


Interstellarstuck

by Lopadopalis



Category: Homestuck, Interstellar (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Multi, Outer Space, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:08:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23982856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lopadopalis/pseuds/Lopadopalis
Summary: A shamelessly made copy of Interstellar pasted onto Homestuck post-canon with some extra things going on.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Davepetasprite/Jade Harley, Jane Crocker/Jake English, John Egbert/Roxy Lalonde, Original Relationships, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Terezi Pyrope/Vriska Serket
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Music used (obviously) doesn't go to me, it all goes to Hans Zimmer.

The seriousness of the situation slammed down onto the occupants of the circle of friends gathered in the room once John spoke and said those fateful five words.  
“I’ve lost my retcon powers.”  
The conversation branched out from there. They’d all lost God Tier, they could just feel it. John, Rose, Dave, Jade, and all the rest had lost their regular powers, and Jade had lost her First Guardian powers, something probably linked to the Green Sun’s disappearance and apparent dissolution into a black hole. The sprites were all gone. Nannasprite, GCatavrosprite, Jasprosesprite^2, and Arquiusprite were all gone. One day they were there, and the next they weren’t. Rose couldn’t explain it, probably because she wasn’t a Seer of Light anymore. The only magical thing that remained over a slow few months of magical dissipation was the Ring of Life, also the only thing keeping Calliope alive. Paradox Space was assumed to now be closed off into a one-way system, due to John now being unable to access it, leaving Aradia, Sollux, Terezi, Vriska, and assumed dead Davepetasprite^2, the only sprite who stayed, inaccessible. Ever since that day, the once god-tiers suddenly having become normal people, everyone settled down even more and got to living.  
Some fragments of their powers remained in certain capacities. If John willed it strongly enough and conditions were right, the weather would subtly change. Rose would occasionally be able to figure out slightly more fortuitous routes in life. Dave could always tell what time it was, and set mental timers which always seemed to work perfectly. Jade could figure out the dimensions of any object. Jane could heal small wounds if she tried hard enough. Roxy could always seem to find whatever she wanted or needed. Dirk, Jake, Karkat, Kanaya, and Calliope didn’t really get much at all. Eventually, Terezi and Vriska showed up as a mild precog and a person with on and off luck, after Terezi had drifted around a black hole for years on Earth C’s end but only about three weeks on her end, but she had found Vriska at last. Aradia and Sollux later showed up as well as a person who happened to never be short on time, and Sollux as a person who could tell whenever somebody important died. Other than that, everyone was powerless.  
John and Roxy, Rose and Kanaya, Dave and Karkat, Jane and Jake, and Terezi and Vriska all ended up in relationships at some point or another in their lives, some having kids. Harry and Liv Egbert-Lalonde, Lilith Maryam-Lalonde, Jeff Vantas-Strider, Jackson and Amber English-Crocker, and Scarlet Pyrope-Serket.  
John took to flying at a suggestion of Rose’s and became a jet fighter pilot simply to give him something to do with his life. Rose and Kanaya became botanists and biologists and tended to disappear from the others’ lives for large periods of time. Dave and Dirk both took engineering. Jade became a physicist because it was what she was best at. Jane became a doctor and Jake became a geographer and adventurer. Roxy spent time exploring caves and nature at a suggestion of Rose’s and became a geologist somewhere along the way. Aradia and Sollux became a meteorologist and a technical engineer respectively. Karkat ended up becoming a chemist. Terezi and Vriska found interest in oceanography during their adventures on the seas in their lives. Calliope became a physicist. Why all scientists and engineers? Reality has its own ways of getting people into the right spots for whatever is to come.

At some point, Earth C started dying. Plants, animals, and soon enough, people. They were starving. In the past, the gods of Earth C would’ve been able to halt the calamity in some way shape or form, bring reason to the people, but now they were just like them: people. Their power had waned away through the years, political and magical. They couldn’t stop what was happening. Next came the dust. A worldwide dust bowl, killing all the crops that people were farming. Fights broke out, and before everybody knew it, a civil war broke out. It was mainly Humans vs. Trolls, but the Carapacians and Consorts got caught in the crossfire. It escalated during Dirk and Sollux’s implementation of Artificial Intelligence into the conflict. Eventually something of a peace was reached, and civilization settled. To the distress of many, Rose Lalonde, Jade Harley, Dirk Strider, Aradia Megido, Sollux Captor, Kanaya Maryam, and the cherub Calliope were declared Missing In Action and presumed dead early on in the war. After that, everyone settled down and started farming. After all, how else were they to survive? Food supplies were running out, so they needed whatever they could to survive.

John Egbert and the rest of his remaining friends are 36. It’s been 13 years since he first exited his home after 5 years of waiting because he felt his retcon powers suddenly dissipating. 12 years since Terezi, Vriska, Aradia, and Sollux showed up. 10 years since the wars started. 10 years since everyone had their kids. 3 years since the wars ended and his friend circle lost its two core lesbians, apathetic Prince, rust blood and gold blood, cherub, and John’s once-god dog sister. 3 years since Lilith was left orphaned and taken in by Karkat and Dave.  
All that was then. This is now.


	2. Act One: Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1. All the Earth stuff.

Today. April 13, 5020.  
John works on one of his family’s two farm robots, generous donations from Dirk a few months prior to his disappearance. TECH and WARE, the second of which John is currently doing maintenance on. The robots in question are shaped like boxes, steel monoliths which haul themselves around and are capable of a wide array of tasks. He soon finishes his work and lets WARE get to his own duties.

“TECH, patch me into Roxy again.” John says to one of his robots. “Of course, John.” the robot says, and one of the two screens that acts as its ‘face’ gets a little Transmitting… symbol. There’s a pause where John twiddles his thumbs. Then the screen adjusts. “Hey John. How are you doing out there?” Roxy says as the picture of her appears. “Good. Kids are fine. Harry’s doing okay in school, same with Liv.” John responds. “How’re the crops?” Roxy asks. John sighs. “The wheat’s dead. All we’ve got left are acres of corn. But we’ve got a lot.” Roxy makes a groaning sound. “Well, how’s Janey?” she asks. “Fine. I’ve managed to get her out of one of her xenophobia stints that she’s gone through once again.” Roxy sighs at that. “She’s done it again.” “How’re you doing?” John asks. “Good.” Roxy finally says. “Geology suits well out here up in the mountains. Which I’m sure you can see out from down there.” John pauses to look up at the mountains ringing the valley. “Listen, I’ll come back soon.” Roxy says. “Oh, no, it’s alright.” John says, but Roxy cuts him off. “Look, I’m pretty much finished here.” she says. “So, I’m on my way out of here soon. I’ll be back within two days, tops. Okay?” John sighs. “Okay. See you Roxy.” She smiles and gives a little wave. Then the screen cuts to black. “End of transmission.” TECH says. John sighs.

John’s dreaming again.  
He’s sitting in the cockpit of a Ranger Prototype, flying over the ocean.  
 _“Computer says you’re too tight.” UNIT says. “Nah, I got this. Crossing the straights.” the whole cabin vibrates. “Shutting it down, Egbert.” systems blink out one by one. “No!” “Shutting it all down.” “No, I need power UP!” all the systems are out, and the ship spirals down, down, down-_  
John’s sensation of falling jerks him awake. He looks around. He’s not crashing. Roxy’s next to him, sleeping peacefully. It’s 5:43 AM, April 15, 5020, not 5010. “Dad?” John looks over to see his dark haired daughter Liv half peeking into the room, looking freshly woken. “Sorry Liv. Go back to bed.” “I thought you were the ghost.” John smiles at her. “No such thing as ghosts, not anymore.” “Grandma said you can get ghosts.” Jane, right. “Probably because an alternate reality version of her was one.” John responds. Liv giggles a little. “You say strange things sometimes, dad. Were you dreaming of the crash?” “Get your butt back in bed, Liv.” Liv sighs and disappears out of the room. Next to John, Roxy rolls over half-asleep. “What time is it?” she asks in a slurred voice. “Quarter to six. Your daughter woke us up.” Roxy snorts. “She’s your daughter too, but she certainly got my knack for bad timing which I seemed to have developed along the way.” “Mmhmm.” John rouses himself from the bed to go take a quick look outside before he goes back. Acres and acres of corn.

“Shake a leg! Liv, get a move on!” John says as he and Roxy set down breakfast on the table of their house. Harry’s already down there. “Harry, you and me in the barn for Herbicide Resistance 101, 4:00. Check?” “Yes sir.” Liv comes down the stairs holding the top and bottom half of a moon lander model. “Dad, can you fix this?” “What the heck did you do to my lander?” “Wasn’t me.” “Let me guess,” Harry says as Liv sits down and John examines the model, fiddling with it. “It was your ghost?” Harry chuckles a little. Liv sighs and continues. “It knocked it off. It keeps knocking books off. I looked it up, it’s called a poltergeist.” John clicks it back together as he speaks. “It’s not very scientific, Liv.” “You said that science was about admitting what we don’t know.” John nods. “All right, you want to talk about science?” he sits down next to her as Roxy also sits. “Don’t tell me you’ve seen some ghost, no, go further. Record the facts, analyze, get to the how and why, and then present your conclusions. Deal?” Liv gets a little twitch in her lip, but it soon becomes a smile. “Deal.” he gives her a high-five and smiles at her.

“Have a good day at school.” John says as Liv and Harry begin to head for school, but Roxy comes up behind him and pushes him forwards as he turns to go inside. “Hold it. We’ve got parent-teacher conferences.” “Right.” he and Roxy walk out towards their dodge ram pickup truck. John points at a column of smoke off in the fields. “That doesn’t look like a dust storm.” “Karkat and Dave are torching their whole crop. People are saying that it’s the last harvest for okra.” Roxy says. John sighs. “They should’ve planted corn like the rest of us. We better make sure we give them some of our shares.” A few minutes later, Roxy is sitting in the backseat of their truck next to Harry, while Liv rides shotgun next to her John, currently on gear duty. “Alright Liv, get me a second.” Liv nods and fiddles with the gearshift. “Third.” “Find a gear, sis.” Harry says. “Shut it Harry!” Liv snaps back at him, and turns up the gear. “Slow down, turbo!” Roxy says, and Liv laughs, changing back to third gear. The truck suddenly jolts in a big bump and one of the tires suddenly goes flat. John stops the vehicle. “What’d you do?” Harry asks. “She didn’t do anything. Just blew a tire, is all.” John explains, and the four of them step out of the vehicle. “Grab the patch kit, Harry.” Roxy says. “Here, you should figure it out yourself, we aren’t always going to be here to help you.”

[*Scene Music*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vko01D77Fg)  
Roxy takes John aside. “You alright?” she asks. “Hmm? Fine.” he says. “Just thinking about our futures.” “Ah, getting existential on me again.” John shrugs. “Yeah, I guess so. I just feel like there’s more to life than all this, Rox.” “Yes, well you hate farming.” Both of them chuckle. “Sometimes I miss SBURB, you know?” he says. “Gave me something to do.” He shrugs. “Guess I wish I could have something to awaken my sense of adventure.” Roxy nods.  
[0:33]  
Suddenly, a dark shape darts overhead. A plane-like object. “Woah!” he says. “Speaking of…” Roxy mutters. John chuckles. “Kids, get in!” Roxy says as they take their starting positions in the vehicle, John starts the engine. “What about the flat tire?” Harry wonders aloud.  
[0:42]  
John drives the truck down the road after the thing as it dances slowly about in the sky, a ballet of movements. “Yeah.” he mutters under his breath. _This is what I’m talking about._  
[0:53]  
The thing veers right over the cornfields, and John takes a sharp right into them. “It’s a norwegian air force drone! Solar cells could power an entire farm.” he says. “Take the wheel, Harry!” In one quick movement, John and Harry swap seats and Roxy pulls out a laptop, while John gives a jammer of a sort to Liv. “Keep that aimed right at it.” Roxy starts up some programs to hack into the drone’s systems. “Faster Harry, we’re losing it!” she half-shouts over the noise of crushing corn. “Right at it.” John says, helping steady his daughter’s aim of the jammer. “Stay on it.” Roxy’s little hacking program activates and the drone begins to drop.  
[1:44]  
“Woah!” Harry says as he swerves to dodge a combine harvester trundling past through the fields. “Nice one, Harry.” John says as he and Roxy check the readings and the truck runs back through the corn, Liv still aiming the jammer.  
[1:53]  
The truck exits the cornfields and begins to drive over short brown grass after the drone. John and Roxy are busy watching their readings. “Dad?” Harry asks. “We almost got it, don’t stop, don’t stop.” Roxy says. “Dad?” Harry asks again, louder this time. John looks up. The truck is nearing a cliff. “Harry!” he shouts, putting his foot on the brakes.  
[1:59]  
The truck stops dead and the drone vanishes over the cliff. “You told me to keep driving.” Harry explains. “Guess that answers the if I asked you to drive off a cliff scenario.” Roxy says. As they step out of the car, Liv sighs. “We lost it.” “No we didn’t.” Roxy says. John has the laptop now, and he fiddles with the mousepad to fly the drone over the nearby lake. “Want to give it a whirl?” he asks. Liv nods, and John gives the device to her. She smiles as she pilots it around a bit. “Let’s lay her down right there at the edge of the reservoir.” Roxy says, and John gestures to Liv, who aims it towards the hills right next to the reservoir and it lands, a little bumpily, but lands all the same. “Nicely done.” John says, and smiles at her.

A little bit later, the four of them are over by the drone, about the size of a small car. “How long do you think it’s been up there?” Harry asks. As John fiddles with the outside of a panel, Roxy takes a guess. “Oslo mission control went down the same as ours, 10 years ago.” Harry gives a small gasp. “Been up there 10 years?” Roxy shrugs. “Why’d it come down so low?” he asks again. John answers this one. “Maybe the sun cooked its brain, or it was looking for something.” “Looking for what?” Liv asks. “We’ll have to see. Give me a large flat blade.” John says, and Roxy hands him one. “Some kind of signal? I don’t know.” John and Roxy open the panel. “What are you going to do with it?” Liv asks. “Give it something socially responsible to do, like drive a combine.” John responds. “Can’t we just leave it alone? It wasn’t hurting anyone.” Liv wonders aloud. John sighs as he and Roxy lift out its power source. “This thing has to learn to adapt like the rest of us, Liv.” Roxy lifts out a few microchips, presumably memory, and John brings the truck over to load the drone onto the back. “C’mon. Let’s go.” he says.

“So how’s this work? You guys come with?” John asks as his family steps out of the truck. “I’ve got class. Liv needs to wait.” Harry says, and starts inside. John bids him farewell. “What did you do, Liv?” John asks. “They’ll tell you about it there.” “Are we going to be mad?” Roxy asks. “Not with me. Just please try not to be.” Liv says, sighing. “Hey, relax. We got this.” Roxy says, ruffling her hair. The two of them head inside.  
“Little late, John.” the principal says as they come in and sit down. He’s sitting next to Liv’s teacher, a blonde haired woman. “Yeah, we had a flat.” Roxy explains. “And I guess you had to stop at the european fighter plane store along the way.” he responds. “Actually sir, that’s a surveillance drone with outstanding solar cells. It’s norwegian.” John explains. “God, you’re such a nerd, John.” Roxy whispers. “I know.” he whispers back. “So, uh…” the principal says, pulling up a list. “We got Harry’s score back. He’s going to make an excellent farmer.” “Yeah, he’s got a knack for it.” John responds. “What about college?” Roxy asks. “The university only takes a handful. They don’t have the resources to-” John cuts him off. “We pay our taxes. Where’s that money going? There’s no more armies.” “Look, you have to be realistic.” “You’re ruling my kid out for college now? The kid’s 15.” “His score simply isn’t high enough.” John taps his fingers on the table. “What about your waistline? About what, 32? 33 Inseam?” “John.” Roxy says, a mitigating tone in her voice. John sighs. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.” the principal says. Roxy speaks for John. “What he’s getting at is asking you why it takes two numbers to measure your ass but only one to measure our son’s future.” the principal sighs. “Look, you’re a well-educated man, John.” he says. “And a trained pilot and engineer.” John follows up. “Okay. Well, right now, we don’t need more engineers. We didn’t run out of television screens and planes. We ran out of food. The world needs farmers. Good farmers, like you and Harry.” “Uneducated farmers.” John says, shrugging. “We’re a caretaker generation, John. And things are getting better. Maybe your grandkids will get to be engin-” “Are we done here, sir?” John asks, his patience evidently waning. “No. Miss Halsey’s here to talk about Liv.”

“Liv is a great kid.” Halsey says. “She’s really bright. But she’s been having trouble lately.” The woman pulls out a book and puts it on the table. “She brought this in to show the students the section on lunar landings.” “Ah, this is where I take over,” Roxy says. “It’s one of my old textbooks. She always loved the pictures.” “It’s an old textbook. We’ve replaced them with corrected versions.” Halsey says. Roxy frowns. “Corrected?” “Explaining how the Apollo missions were faked to bankrupt the New Union.” “You don’t believe we went to the moon or the stars?” Roxy seems to have a bit of a twitch. “I believe it was a brilliant piece of propaganda to trick them into pouring resources into rockets and other useless machines.” Roxy wrinkles her nose. “Useless machines.” “If we don’t want a repeat of the excess and wastefulness of the previous century, then we need to teach our kids about this planet, not tales of leaving it.” “You know,” John says, butting in. “One of those useless machines was called a KR-75 Gen 3 Tracker, and if we’d had any of those left, I wouldn’t have lost my sister.” there’s a pause before Halsey speaks. “I’m sorry about your sister, Mr. Egbert, but… Liv got into a fistfight over this Apollo nonsense. So we thought it best to bring you two in and and see what ideas you might have for dealing with her behaviour.” Roxy sighs. _Here we go._

“How’d it go?” Liv asks as her parents approach the truck, John whistling. “Well…” John says, but trails off. “We got you suspended.” Roxy finishes for him. “What!?” Liv half-shouts at them. Suddenly, one of John’s walkie-talkies on the dashboard crackles. “John.” the robotic voice of WARE says. “This is John. Go.” “Sir, those combines you rebuilt went haywire.” “Just reset the controllers.” “I did that. You should come take a look.” John gestures to the others. “C’mon.”  
Around their home, combine harvesters are clustered, a fifth one just stopping next to their house. “One by one, they’ve been peeling off the fields and heading over.” TECH says as their truck rolls up, hauling himself on his arms in a gorilla-esque walk. Jane’s here too, John notes. “Something’s interfering with the compass.” John says as he checks the systems. “Magnetism or some such. What’re you doing here?” Jane shrugs. “Lost my combine. Plus, I thought I’d check in.” John nods. “How are Jackson and Amber?” Jane shrugs. “Fine. Still look like you and Jade.” “Hence the names.” John smiles. He finds Liv inside her room, making notes in her notebook, looking over her bookshelf, from which books have tumbled. “Nothing special about which book. I’ve been working on it, like you said. I counted the spaces.” “Why, Liv?” Liv gives him a c’mon dad look and continues. “In case the ghost is trying to communicate. I’m trying morse. Dots and dashes.” “I know what morse is, Liv, I just don’t think your bookshelf is trying to talk to you.” Liv wrinkles her nose. “Nothing wrong with trying.” John smiles and ruffles her hair. “That’s my girl.”

“Had to reset every compass clock and GPS to offset the anomaly.” John says as he sits down next to Jane, who’s on the porch. “Which is?” she asks. “I don’t know. If the house was built on magnetic ore, we’d have seen it the first time we switched on the tractor.” “I heard your meeting at the school didn’t go so well.” John scoffs. “So, Roxy told you?” Jane nods. “Yeah, I mean, it’s like we’ve forgotten who we are, Jane. Explorers, pioneers, not caretakers.” Jane sighs. “Yeah, back in the B2 Universe, when I was a kid, it felt like they made something new every day, some gadget or idea. Like every day was christmas. But now…” Jane stares off into the distant evening horizon. “6 billion people… just try to imagine that. Every last one of them was trying to have it all. But… this world as it is now isn’t so bad. Harry will do just fine. It’s you who doesn’t belong here, John, no offense.” “None taken, Jane. Prior to losing our powers, I never really felt like I belonged.” “Yeah, I can’t tell half the time whether you were born 40 years too late or 40 years too early. Roxy knows it, god bless her. Your kids know it, especially Liv.” “Well…” John joins Jane’s staring off into the horizon. “Well, we used to look up at the sky and wonder… at our place in the stars, and now… now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt.” “John, you were good at something, and you never got a chance to do anything with it. I’m sorry.” John shrugs. “Nothing to be sorry about, Jane.” Roxy suddenly walks outside. “Hey John, could I talk to you for a second? I have to show you something.” John nods.  
“I’ve been analyzing the drone’s memory files, and I found this.” Roxy says as the two of them sit at the table hunched over her laptop. “So, everything’s good on it until two days ago, right?” “Yeah.” “Well, right here, if you see-” Roxy gestures to systems on the screen. “-Something tripped its systems this morning, 5:37 AM, and it went into a spiral fall, and guess where it tripped?” “Above the farm. What does it mean?” “I don’t know. Gravity anomalies are all around the farm. Crazy world.”

[*Scene Music*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0_VuwvvS-k)  
About a day later, a large dust storm blows by. John shuts all of the dust-blinds on the closed windows. “Liv? Harry? You guys shut your windows?” Harry nods, but Liv gets a look on her face, then sprints up the stairs to her room, John following.  
Dust is all over her room, covering everything. John shuts the window, and notices where light still shines brightly onto. There are specific lines of it on the floor. “The ghost.” Liv says. John does a survey of the room, then speaks. “Grab your pillow, you’re staying in with Harry.” Liv nods, and does so.  
[0:34]  
John crouches down. The lines are precise, specific.  
[1:04]  
Liv comes back inside the room to find her father hunched over the dust. “It’s not a ghost.” He flicks a coin onto one of the lines, and it’s drawn in, as if by magnetism. “It’s gravity.” He smiles.  
[1:28]  
“I’m dropping Harry, then heading into town.” Roxy says, sticking her head into the room. John gives a thumbs up. “And you wanna, you know, clean that up when you’ve finished praying to it?” John’s response is yet another thumbs up. Roxy rolls her eyes and leaves.  
[1:35]  
John gestures to Liv if he can borrow her notebook, and he begins to jot down rough images of the strokes of dust in it. Slowly, methodically. Liv leaves again.  
[1:58]  
She returns, drinking a glass of water, as John stands now, looking over his analysis. “It’s not morse, Liv,” he says. “It’s binary.” She cocks her head to one side as he turns to her. “Thick is one, thin is zero.” He gets a look of recognition on his face. “Coordinates.”  
[2:15]  
Liv and John pull up some old maps. “Nope. Mhm.” he mutters, looking over them. “Here we go. Thirty-three…” he circles a spot on one of them, out in the middle of nowhere. “That’s it.”  
[2:32]  
“I can’t miss this!” Liv says as John exits the house and starts towards the truck, which is still caked in dust. “Mom will be back in a couple of hours, Liv.” “But you don’t know what you’re gonna find!” He cracks open the truck’s door. “And that…” he says, throwing stuff inside, “Is why I can’t take you.”  
[2:47]  
On one last detour inside, John folds up the map, grabs a full thermos, and starts out the door. “Liv?” he pauses to half-shout. “Roxy will be home in a couple of hours, tell her I’ll call her on the radio.” he passes his two robots. “TECH,” he snaps his fingers and gestures to the back of the truck. “With me.” The robot starts into it, using its arms to haul itself in. “Good luck, sir.” WARE says as John drives off.  
[3:03]  
While inside his truck, John lifts up the orange blanket next to him to get at some tech, and reveals Liv. She exclaims. “Jesus!” He shouts. “What are you doing?” He asks her. She chuckles. “What, you think this is funny?” “You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me.” she responds. John smiles at that ( _That’s my girl_ ), and hands over the map. “Make yourself useful.” With that, they drive down the road and through the dimming afternoon.  
[3:28]  
As it gets darker as they pass the mountains and fall under their towering shadows, John folds the blanket over Liv as she curls up. He drives the truck along an abandoned stretch of road next to a forgotten lake.  
[3:52]  
The truck runs out of road at some point or another, coming across an old chain link fence, barely lit in the dark night. “Hey, Liv. Liv.” Liv opens her eyes. “I think we’re here.” “End of the road?” John nods. “End of the road.”  
[4:20]  
John examines the fence. “Did you bring the bolt cutters?” Liv asks. John nods. TECH gets out of the back of the truck. “This looks old.” he says. “Pretty sure it is.” John notes, taking the bolt cutters from Liv and spending a short while checking around for a good place to start.  
[5:13]  
There’s a sudden flash of bright light on the other side of the fence. “Step away!” A man’s voice shouts. John drops the bolt cutters and raises his hands. “Don’t shoot! I’m not armed. My daughter’s in the truck.” He suddenly goes down like he’s been tased. The light advances towards the truck. “Don’t be afraid.” Liv screams.

John opens his eyes. There’s a robot much like TECH and WARE in design, but slightly higher tech. The name on it reads TARS. “How did you find this place?” It asks, the same voice from earlier. “Where’s my daughter?” John asks. “You had coordinates for this facility marked on your map, where did you get them?” John stands up. “Where’s my daughter!?” “Don’t make me take you down again, sit down!” The robot shouts. _Classic military models_ John thinks. “You think you’re still a marine, pal? Marines don’t exist anymore. I got grunts like you mowing my grass.” he sneers. “Literally.” “Yes, and we’ve got him too. TECH was rather compliant. Where did you find those coordinates?” “You’re one of the newer gens, aren’t you? Sleeker, faster, tougher… What the hell are you still doing around here? I ought to salvage you for parts.” John says.  
“No you won’t.” A familiar voice says. A very familiar voice.  
No fucking way.

Rose Lalonde walks out of the shadows. “TARS, stand down.” The robot stands back obediently. “Hi John.” “... Rose?” she shrugs. “Hi.” “I thought you were dead.” “I’m not.” John struggles to process this new wave of information. “So where’ve you been all these years?” He asks as she gestures for him to follow, TARS silently following behind. “Working here.” Rose says as she leads him to a door. “Where’s here?” she opens it, and all of his questions instantly leave his mind. “Dad!” Liv shouts, running over to him, where he scoops her up. “Hello, John.” a slightly melodious voice says. He looks around the room he’s now in. A conference room, with various people sitting around it, including Jade and Calliope, who spoke in the first place. “Calliope. Jade. You’re not-” Jade cuts him off. “John, how did you find this facility? You’re sitting in the best-kept secret in the world. Please don’t be difficult.” John sighs.

He sits down at one of the chairs. “We learned these coordinates from, well… an anomaly.” “What sort of an anomaly?” an english voice says, and John turns to see Jake has entered the room. “Jake. You’re in on-” Jake cuts him off. “Yes. What sort of anomaly?” “I hesitate to term it supernatural, but it wasn’t exactly scientific. It was gravity.” “Where was this?” “Look, I’m not giving anymore answers until I know what’s going on.” John says. “It’s great that you’re all alive, but I need to know what’s going on.” “Don’t you know who we are, John?” Jade asks. John shrugs. “We’re NASA.” _NASA. What? They’re still around?_ “The same NASA you flew for.”

Calliope leads him into a room where various techs are working on a large rocket. “Heard the governments shut you guys down because you refused to drop bombs from the stratosphere onto starving people.” John says. The cherub shrugs. “Once they realized that killing other people was in no way a long term solution, then they needed us back. In secret.” John pauses. “Why secret?” “Because public opinion wouldn’t allow spending on space exploration, not when everyone’s struggling to put food on the table.” John nods, and follows Calliope up to the window of some kind of botany room. The cherub continues. “The blight took wheat seven years ago, and okra this year. Now there’s just corn.” “Yes, and we’re growing more than we ever have.” “The corn will die too, John. It’s already begun.” “Well, we’ll find a way, won’t we, Callie? We’ll survive.” Calliope smiles and shrugs at him. “Except Earth’s atmosphere is 80% nitrogen, which we don’t even breathe. Blight does, and as it thrives, the air gets less and less oxygen. The last to starve will be the first to suffocate. And your daughter’s generation,” Calliope says, dropping her voice to a whisper as Rose and Liv walk over. “Will be the last to survive on Earth.”

“Liv is tired.” Rose says. “I was wondering if she could take a nap in my office.” John nods. “Yeah, sure.” Liv smiles, and Rose leads her away. John turns back to Calliope. “Now you need to tell me what your plan is to save the world.” Calliope shakes her head and gestures to the top of the rocket, John’s eyes following as she speaks. “We’re not meant to save the world. We’re meant to leave it.” his eyes find their mark, and he speaks the name of the aircraft strapped to the front of the rocket. “Rangers.” “The last components of our one remaining versatile ship in orbit, the Endurance.” Calliope says. “Our final expedition.” “You sent people out there looking for a new home?” John looks astounded, and he gets the feeling he should be. “The Lazarus Missions.” “Cheerful.” “You do know that Lazarus came back from the dead, right John?” “Yes, but he died first. There’s not a planet in our solar system that could sustain life, and the nearest star is over 1000 years away, that doesn’t even qualify as futile. Where’d you send them?” Calliope sighs. “John… I can’t tell you anything more unless you agree to sign on to the mission as our pilot. You’re the best pilot NASA has ever had.” John snorts. “I barely left the stratosphere.” Calliope holds up her finger. “This team barely left the simulator. We need a pilot, and this is the mission you were trained for.” “Without even knowing it? I didn’t know you were alive an hour ago, you were going anyway” Calliope sighs. “Originally, you were training for the Lazarus missions, but…” “But something knocked me out of the sky.” “So we had to replace you, meaning we needed you for this mission.” “Who replaced me?” Calliope pauses, a somber look lingering in her eyes for a moment. “That’s… not important. What’s important is, something sent you here, and I believe they were the same things that knocked you out of the sky. They chose you.” John tilts his head to the side. “Who’s they?” Calliope shrugs in response. “How long would I be gone?” John asks. “Hard to know. Years.” “I’ve got kids, Calliope.” “Then get out there, and save them.” John sighs. “Alright. I sign on.” Calliope smiles. “Welcome back.”

“We started detecting gravitational anomalies almost 50 years ago.” Jade says, as various people sit around the conference room table. Rose, John, Calliope, and various other NASA operations managers and directors. Dave, Jane, Roxy, Jake, Karkat, Terezi, and Vriska also sit around. The past day has been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone else to learn the alive status of their friends and family. Jade continues. “Mostly small distortions to our instruments in the upper atmosphere. We believe John encountered a big one.” Everyone turns to John, and he speaks. “Over the straights, yeah. Something tripped my fly-by-wire, and I crashed.” “Exactly.” Jade continues. “But the most significant of all of these anomalies is this; Out near Saturn, there’s a disturbance in space-time.” Jade hits some buttons on a keyboard, and an image appears on screen. Space, but rolling, twisted, jerky.” “Is that a goddamn wormhole?” Dave asks. Jade nods. “It appeared 48 years ago.” “Where does it go?” Terezi asks. “Another galaxy. A wormhole is not a naturally occurring phenomenon, meaning, well, someone placed it there.” “Someone.” Karkat mutters. “Magic hasn’t existed in over a decade, the energy required to keep something like that open is impossible.” Roxy says. Jade shrugs. “Somebody’s looking out for us. The wormhole allows us to travel to other stars, and it came along right when we needed it. Whoever they are, they’ve put potentially habitable worlds right within our reach.” Rose speaks at this point, drawing attention to her. “Twelve, in fact, according to our probes.” “You sent probes into that thing?” Karkat asks. “We sent people into it.” Calliope says. “Ten years ago. The Lazarus Missions. 12 possible worlds, 12 Ranger launches carrying the bravest humans and trolls ever to live, led by our old friend, Dirk Strider.” there’s a pause. A moment of silence. John stares at the assembled pictures and names of the Lazarus Mission operatives. His thoughts whisper in his head as he looks over each of them.

TORRENCE-01  
Dark haired stony eyed huMan who was evidently half in-charge  
CAPTOR-02  
Blind troll guy from that Juju hunt or whatever  
ANVIEN-03  
Male troll with an overconfident look  
STRIDER-04  
Dirk, obviously  
JACKSON-05  
Uncertain looking brown haired human male  
KAGRIX-06  
Calm faced male troll  
UPWORTH-07  
Human woman with blonde hair and passive smile  
GROVES-08  
Brown haired human woman with a predatory look  
MEGIDO-09  
That creepy insane troll also from that treasure escapade  
SHAW-10  
Brown haired human woman with an apathetic expression  
ITHAKA-11  
Female troll who looks like she could take on the world  
MARYAM-12  
Kanaya wait, what?

_So Kanaya was my replacement. _  
Rose speaks, breaking the silence. “Each person’s life support could keep somebody going for two years, but they could stretch that with hibernation, making observations on organics for a decade or more. Their mission was to assess the world, and if it showed potential, then they could send out a signal, bed down for the long nap, wait to be rescued.” There’s a pause. “And what if the world didn’t show promise?” Vriska asks. “Hence the bravery.” Jade says. “You don’t have the resources to visit all 12.” John says, stating the reality that everyone has realised. Jade shakes her head. “Data transmission back through the wormhole is rudimentary. Simple binary pings on an annual basis give us some clue to which worlds have potential, and one system shows promise.” Dave chuckles, and scratches his nose. “One system? Bit of a long shot here, Jade.” “One system with three habitable worlds?” Rose asks him, smiling. “No long shot.” she shakes her head. “So we find a home, and, uh, then what?” Terezi asks. “There’s a Plan A and a Plan B.” Calliope says. “Did any of you notice anything about the launch chamber?” John and the others swivel their chairs around, John turning his head to the side and noticing it first.__

__“This entire facility’s a centrifuge.” he swivels back around. “Some kind of vehicle. A space station?” “Both. Plan A.” Calliope smiles, or tries to. “How do you get it off the ground, exactly?” Jane wonders, scratching her head. “The gravity anomalies changed everything.” Calliope says. “They proved that gravity could be harnessed. So I started working on this theory when I was building this station, but I haven’t solved it yet. That’s why there’s Plan B. The problem is gravity, and how to get a viable amount of human life off of the planet. This is one way.” Calliope makes a tsk sound and continues. “Plan B is a population bomb. Over 5000 fertilized eggs weighing in at just under 900 kilos.” “How do you raise them?” John asks. Rose answers this question. “We incubate the first 10, and after that, with surrogacy, growth becomes exponential. Within 30 years, we could have a colony of hundreds. The real difficulty with colonization is genetic diversity. This takes care of that.” “But, uh…” Roxy says, raising her hand. “What about the people here, you just give up on them?” “Yeah, our kids?” John throws in. Calliope smiles, or gives an expression resembling a smile. “That’s why Plan A’s a lot more fun.” “How far have you got?” John asks. “Almost there.” the cherub responds. “You’re asking us to hang everything on almost.” Calliope cuts John off. “I’m asking you to trust me. Find us a new home. And by the time you’ve returned… I will have solved the problem of gravity. You have my word.”_ _

__“All set?” Karkat asks. “Yep.” Dave responds, and starts out the door, stopping halfway through. “You coming?” Karkat shakes his head. “No. Not this time. One adventure is enough for one lifetime, in my opinion.” Dave sighs. “You sure?” Karkat shrugs. “Of course. Besides, somebody has to take care of Jeff and Lilith.” Dave smiles at that. “Good luck out there, okay Dave?” Karkat says, clasping the human’s shoulders. “I’ll need it.” “And don’t die.” Karkat says, then adds, “I’ll kill you if you do.” they both get a little chuckle out of that. “But if I do-” “Don’t, don’t say that.” “No, listen, if I do…” Dave clasps the sides of Karkat’s face. “Have a great life.” they kiss, one last time, before breaking away. Dave gets into their truck and drives off. “Dad?” Jeff asks, coming down the stairs. “Where’s dad going?” “Well, he’s… he’s going on an adventure.” “When will he be back?” “Who knows?” Karkat responds, and as Jeff leaves, he sits down at the dining room table and stares off into space. “Who knows.” he mutters._ _

__“I figure one Oceanographer’s enough for this mission.” Vriska says as Terezi gathers her stuff. “You bet.” “Boy, off you go again. Unto the breach.” Vriska says with added flair. “Yes, but this time I’m not searching for you.” Terezi says, and starts out the door. “If I don’t come back…” “You will. You’re too tough not to.” Vriska responds. “You found me, right?” “Right.” “There you go.” “Well, good luck with your life.” Terezi says. “I know you’ve still got all of it, so…” they both smile. “Goodbyes aren’t my thing.” “Please, T, they’re none of our things.” “Well…” Terezi smacks Vriska on the shoulder and walks out. “See you around.”_ _

__“Go away!” Liv’s voice comes. “Liv.” John says. “Go! If you’re leaving, just go!” John sighs and walks out of his house, where Roxy is saying her goodbyes to Harry. Jane is standing there as well, also staying home to take care of her kids and his. “This world was never enough for you, was it John?” she asks. “What, because heading out there is what it feels like I was really born to do? And it excites me?” “No, that doesn’t make it wrong.” “It might.” John says, staring over the cornfields. “Don’t trust the right thing done for the wrong reason.” Jane responds. “The why of the thing, that’s the foundation, and the foundation is solid.” “We farmers, we sit here every year when the rains fall and say ‘next year’. Well, next year ain’t gonna save this, nor the one after that. This world’s a treasure, Jane. But it’s been telling us to leave for a while now. Mankind was born on earth, it was never meant to die here.” Roxy walks up to John and Jane. “Harry will be alright. But you have to make things right with Liv. I’ve already said my goodbyes.” “I will.” She stops him on the way inside for a moment. “Without making promises you know you can’t keep, alright?” there’s a pause. “Alright.” John says._ _

__[*Scene Music*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca_Cv7seV4Y)  
John sighs.  
[0:00]  
He walks through his home. He’s leaving all of this behind. And who knows for how long? Years, decades…  
Forever?  
He pushes on Liv’s door. It’s blocked by her dresser and some other furniture. He pushes it open and walks past the objects.  
[1:26]  
She’s lying on her side in her bed, facing away from him. “You have to talk to me, Liv. I have to fix this before I go.” referring to the Lander clutched in her hands. “Then I’ll keep it broken so you stay.” she says. John sits down next to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. “After you kids came along, your mother said something I’ve never quite understood. ‘Now, we’re just here to be memories for our kids.’ And I think I understand what she meant. Once you’re a parent… you’re the ghost of your children’s future.”  
[2:16]  
“You said ghosts didn’t exist.” Liv says, sitting up on the bed and pulling out her notebook. “That’s right Liv. Liv, look at me.” she turns to face him. “I can’t be your ghost right now. I need to exist. They chose me. You saw. You’re the one that led me to them.”  
[2:49]  
“That’s exactly why you can’t go.” Liv says, flipping through her notebook. “I figured out the message. One word. You know what it is? Stay. It says Stay, dad.”  
[3:06]  
“Look at the books! Look at this!” Liv says as John hugs her, cradling her. “It says Stay! You’re not listening, it says Stay!” “No, I’m coming back.” “When?” Liv says through a fit of tears. John sighs. _Never_ a dark corner of his brain says.  
[3:26]  
John reaches into his pocket and pulls out a watch, gesturing to the one on his arm as he puts it into her hands. “One for you, one for me. When I’m up there in hypersleep… or, or travelling at the speed of light, or… or near a black hole…. Time’s gonna change for me. It’s gonna run more slowly. When I get back, we’re gonna compare.” “Time will… run differently for us?” Liv asks, staring at the second hands as they slowly turn. “Yeah. By the time I get back here, we might even be the same age, you and me.” John says, trying to sound cheerful. “What? Imagine that.”  
[4:06]  
She slowly turns to him, a lonely expression on her face. “Aw, Liv…” “You have no idea when you’re coming back…” she says, confirming exactly what he’s thinking.  
[4:16]  
“No idea at all!” she shouts, throwing the watch, causing it to clatter off of a shelf and land on the ground nearby. “Liv, don’t-don’t make me leave like this.” John says as Liv buries herself under her sheets, sobbing loudly. “Come on Liv. Don’t make me leave like this, Liv. Liv-” he steps back for a moment, wiping his eyes.  
[4:34]  
“Hey.” he says to the lump of blankets. “I love you.” he says as he lays his hand on her head. “Forever. You hear me? I love you forever, and I’m coming back. I’m coming back.” he lets go, and starts towards the door.  
[5:01]  
As he opens it, a book falls from the shelf and lands on the floor alongside all the others. He pauses for a moment, staring at it, then at Liv, then back again. _Could it…_ he doesn’t finish the thought and leaves.  
[5:09]  
“How’d it go?” Jane asks. “Fine, just fine.” John mutters back as he throws his stuff into his truck, where Roxy sits in the passenger seat. He gives Harry one last hug, the two of them patting each other on the back. “You’re almost as big as me.” John says to relieve the tension, and Harry gives a smile, but nothing else. “All set?” he asks. “Yep. You’ll look after our place for us, alright?” “Alright.” “Bye TECH, bye WARE.” “Goodbye sir.” “Good luck sir.”  
[5:15]  
“Hey, can I use your truck while you’re gone?” Harry asks. “You mean your truck?” John responds as he gets inside? “I’ll make sure they bring it back.” “John. It’s time to go.” Roxy says behind him, and he sighs. “Look after my kids, Jane.” his ecto-mom nods.  
[5:36]  
John drives the truck down the road. On the way, he checks under the blanket next to him, almost wishing Liv was there, but she wasn’t.  
 _Go for Main Engines start, T-Minus 10…_  
“Dad!” Liv shouts as she runs out the door.  
 _9…_  
“Dad!” she screams again as Jane stops her mid-run. Harry watches the truck drive off.  
 _8… 7…_  
“Dad!” Liv screams one last time after the truck, eyes welling up again.  
 _6… 5… Main Engines, start, 4…_  
John’s eyes well up to, as do Roxy’s, but neither of them say anything.  
 _3… 2… 1, Booster Ignition, and-!_  
[6:10]  
The rocket’s engines fire, and the vehicle shoots out from under the ground, a giant white beacon of hope, streaming up into the sky. The ship shakes as it flies up, up, up through the air resistance, headed for space. Various friends sit around the Ranger’s cabin. John, Rose, Dave, Jade, Roxy, Jake, and Terezi. TARS is in the Ranger’s AI holding spot.  
[6:40]  
“All engines look good, beginning roll program.” TARS says. “Prepare for Stage One seperation.” there’s a jolt as part of the rocket falls away. “Stage One.” TARS continues. “There is Mach 1. Everyone good? Plenty of slaves for my robot colony?” John, confused, turns to Jake. “Dirk gave them humour settings, thought they’d fit in better with their military units. He thinks it relaxes us.” John snorts. “A giant sarcastic robot. What a great idea!” “I have a cue light I can use if I’m joking if you like.” TARS offers. “That’d probably help.” John says. “You can use it to find your way back to the ship when I blow you out of the airlock.” the cue light flicks on. “What’s your humour setting, TARS?” Rose asks. “That’s 100 percent.” Rose shoots Dave a glare, and he gets a sheepish grin. She sighs. “Let’s bring it down to 75, please.” “Roger that Commander. Stage Two separation.” TARS continues, and there’s another jolt._ _

__“All feeds going manual.” Rose continues. “Going manual.” Dave says. “Deactivate probe heater one, two, and three.” “Check.” John responds. “Taking control.” John says. “This is a handover to you.” Rose confirms. “A.D.F Check.” John says. “Over.” Rose responds. “Pull thrusters back.” “Fuel cells one, two, three.” Dave says. “One hundred percent.” he makes a little ‘perfect’ hand signal. “It’s hard leaving everything.” John says to Dave, designated the fellow engineer on the mission. “Everyone’s kids, some people’s spouses… god.” “Crazy. Hope he gets along.” Dave responds. “Hmm?” “Karkat. That’s our house right there.” he says, pointing to a spot on the Earth. “Oh yeah.” both men chuckle. “How long do you think we’ll be gone?” John asks. “I mean, you’re the time guy. Any ideas?” Dave wrinkles his nose. “Honestly?” he stares up for a moment, lost in his mind. Then he looks back at John. “Not a fuckin’ clue.” John smiles. “Honest. Speaking of which, TARS, what’s your honesty setting?” John asks the giant robot. “Ninety percent. Absolute honesty isn’t always the most diplomatic, nor the safest form of communication with emotional beings.” TARS responds.  
“If you three are finished…” Rose says. “We’re coming up on the Endurance.” both men turn their attention to the circular shape that the Ranger ring is slowly drifting towards. “Twelve minutes out.” Minutes pass in silence. “Okay, taking control.” Jake says, disconnecting himself and going towards the back, where he begins to pilot the Ranger’s docking port towards the Endurance’s. “Approaching module port, 500 meters.” “It’s all yours, Jake.” Jade says. Jake hums quietly as he carefully, assisted by autopilot, maneuvers the two docking ports together, shaking the Rangers a little. “Lock.” “Target locked.” John confirms. “Good job.” “Okay, helmets on.” Rose says._ _


	3. Act Two: Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act Two of Seven.

One by one, the crew, save John, moves through the outer ring in the zero-gravity and into the command module, where Dave and Jake fiddle with some systems. “John, you should have control.” Dave says. “Control here.” John responds from the Ranger. “Communication with ring module active.” “Oh, wow…” Jade says as she stares out over Earth. Meanwhile, TARS wanders into the crew quarters and finds a second robot identical to him standing dormant. “That’s initiate.” John says. Everyone else straps themselves in on the ship’s seats. “Are we ready to spin?” “We’re a go.” Rose responds. Meanwhile, the second robot ‘wakes’, various words appearing on the screen that act almost as ‘eyes’. “Hello CASE.” the first robot says. “Hello TARS.” judging by tone of voice, one would think they were old friends. In a way, they are.

“All right, let’s do it.” John says over comms, and flips some switches. On the outside of the  _ Endurance _ , small jets fire silently and push the ring of a vehicle in an ever-quickening spin. Rose smiles. John continues to give updates. “Thirty percent of spin.” A few seconds later, he follows with “One G. How’s gravity treating you back there?” “Well.” Terezi says. “Roxy?” Rose asks. “Hmm?” “Hey, you okay?” Roxy looks a little bit slumped in her seat. “Yeah, I just need a minute.” “There’s some dramamine in the hab pod, or maybe in the cryo-beds, it’ll just be a sec.” Roxy nods. “Hey, Rose?” “Yeah?” “Bring a lot.” that gets a chuckle out of Rose.

“Guys! Over here!” Jade calls. The others follow the sound of her voice to the crew quarters, where everyone stops. There stands a bright-skinned humanoid, with troll horns but human skin. Orange shades, lime green dyed hair. An olive coat drapes over their body, orange crow wings extending from their back, at which a sword is sheathed. They wear clawed gloves, and their shirt bears the insignia of a geared sun. “What…?” Rose says. “Sup.” is all Davepeta says. “How the fuck are you alive?” John asks. “Hell if I know.” Davepeta says. “One minute I was a sprite and the next, well, I was… whatever you’d call me now. Paradox Space became a mute point, and…  _ They _ told me that the world needed me. Or something. I also noted that magic was dead, so that’s pleasant.” “Who’s ‘they’?” Dave asks. Davepeta shrugs. “I don’t know. Regardless, I was supposed to enter back into the universe at a certain time and here I am. Supposedly it’s my job to help you guys and I’ve got no problem with that.” there’s a pause before Davepeta pumps their fist in the air. “Wooh.” they say in mock amusement.

“Heard you got yourselves an extra passenger.” Calliope says as the crew; John, Rose, Dave, Jade, Roxy, Jake, Terezi, and Davepeta, cluster around the live footage of the cherub. “Better update that crew list.” that gets a chuckle out of a few people. “Roxy, be safe. Give my regards to Dirk.” Calliope says, and Roxy smiles. “I will.” “It looks good for your trajectory, we’ve calculated 2 years to saturn.” “That’s a lot of dramamine.” Terezi comments with a bit of a look. Roxy punches her in the arm and gives a little laugh. “Fuck you.” “Look after my family, will you please, Callie?” John asks. Calliope nods. “We’ll be waiting for you when you get back, a little older, a little wiser, but happy to see you.”

As the crew starts the ship’s engines and flies it forward and away from Earth, Calliope speaks.

“Do not go gentle into that good night. Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage, against the dying of the light. Wise men at their end know dark is right, but because their words had forked no lightning they do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.” “Dylan Thomas?” Rose asks. “Touche.” Calliope responds.

The  _ Endurance _ breaks Earth orbit and flies out into space.

**_ENDURANCE_ ** **CREW LIST**

ROSE LALONDE COMMANDER, SENIOR BIOLOGIST, BOTANIST, ECOLOGIST

JOHN EGBERT CHIEF ENGINEER, METEOROLOGIST, SENIOR PILOT

DAVE STRIDER ASST. ENGINEER, ASST. PILOT, NAVIGATOR, ASST. CHEMIST

JAKE ENGLISH TECH SUPPORT, GEOGRAPHER, GLACIOLOGIST

ROXY LALONDE SENIOR MEDICAL OFFICER, AEROLOGIST, GEOLOGIST

JADE HARLEY ASTRONOMER, SENIOR CHEMIST, SENIOR PHYSICIST

TEREZI PYROPE MEDICAL SUPPORT, OCEANOGRAPHER, ASST. BIOLOGIST

DAVEPETA ASST. ENGINEER, ASST. PHYSICIST, ASST. CHEMIST

“So alone.” John says. “We have each other. Dirk had it worse.” Rose says. “No, I mean them.” John says, gesturing to the Earth, seeming to spin due to the  _ Endurance _ ’s rotation. The crewmembers are all gathered in the cryo bay, CASE and TARS included. John leans back from the window and sits down. “It’s a perfect planet, but we’ll never find another one like her.” Dave chuckles next to him. “It sure as hell isn’t like getting a new condo.” “Humanity and Troll...manity?” Rose says, pausing her freshly started speech. “Alternianity?” she asks Terezi quizzically. “Alternianity, I think.” Terezi says, shrugging. Rose nods and continues. “Humanity and Alternianity are going to be adrift, desperate for a rock they can cling to and catch their breath, and we need to find that rock, and our three prospects are at the edge of what might sustain human life.” Rose continues, pulling up a little prepared slideshow.

A picture of a bluish whitish dot in a sea of sable appears on screen. “Aradia Megido’s planet is first. A few of us have already met her, I’m sure.” Terezi sits up a little straighter from her slouch. Davepeta ruffles their feathers. “For those of you that haven’t, she’s an expert Meteorologist, Biophysicist, and the person that started our Biology program.” Rose continues on.

Next, a brown dot appears in a desert of darkness. “Kanaya’s here, we’ve all met her to some capacity. She’s a Biologist, Botanist, but also a Particle Physicist.” Rose says.

Roxy raises her hand. “None of them had any families?” Rose shakes her head. “Calliope insisted on no attachments. That doesn’t mean that some of them didn’t form… attachments with each other, but they all knew the odds of ever seeing any other human being ever again. I’m hoping we can surprise at least three of them.” Rose smiles. “And what about Dirk?” Jake asks.

Finally, a white dot with a bluish tinge appears in an expanse of black. “Remarkable. The best of us.” Rose says. “He inspired 11 people to follow him in the loneliest journey in human history. Scientists, explorers, engineers. He’s an Engineer, Biologist, and Aerologist.”

As the crew begins to go into cryosleep, one by one, soon John and Rose are the only two left save for TARS and CASE. “That’s what I love.” Rose says. “You know, out there, we face great odds. Death, but… not evil.” “You don’t think nature can be evil?” John asks. “Is a lion evil because it rips a gazelle to shreds?” Rose questions. “No. Formidable, frightening, but… no, not evil.” “Just what we take with us then.” John says. Rose nods. “This crew is the best of humanity and alternianity.” “The best, huh?” John asks, scanning the pods and stealing a glance at TARS. “You know what? We agreed 90 percent.” Rose says, and then lowers herself into her cryopod. “Don’t linger too long, we’ve got a limited oxygen supply.” the top closes and she sleeps. John turns to the robots.

“Hey TARS? Let’s go over the trajectory one more time.” The robot responds quickly. “Eight months to Mars. Counter-orbital slingshot around. Fourteen months to Saturn. Nothing’s changed on that.” John nods, then whispers. “Let me ask you something. About Rose-” TARS cuts him off. “Why are you whispering? They can’t hear you?” John sighs and rolls his eyes, before speaking at normal volume. “About Rose, think we’ve got to worry about her… biases?” “I wouldn’t know.” TARS says. John raises one of his eyebrows. “Is that 90 percent ‘wouldn’t know’, or 10 percent ‘wouldn’t know’?” “I also have a discretion setting, John.” TARS says. John nods. “But not a poker face, slick.”

John sits down to make a last radio message, his face reflected on the screen of one of the onboard computers as the webcam records him. “Hey guys. Dad’s about to go down for the long nap. So, I wanted to give you an update. Uh…” he scratches his head for a moment. “The Earth looks amazing from here. You can’t see any of the dust. Um, I hope you guys are doing great. I know you’ll get this message.” he smiles, mainly for effect. “Callie’s assured me that she’ll get it to you. Know that I love you.” he ends the message, and goes to his cryopod to settle into cryosleep.

Two vehicles drive up to the Egbert family homestead. One of them is the family pickup truck. The other is a basic white car. Jane and Liv stand on the porch. “Is it him?” Liv asks. “I don’t think so, Liv.” Jane says. Calliope steps out of the truck. “Hello Jane, hello Liv.” she says. “Why are you in my dad’s truck?” Liv asks. Calliope smiles, or tries to. “He wanted me to bring it for your brother. He sent you a message.” as she speaks, the cherub pulls out a bag and begins rummaging around in it. She hears a door slam and looks up to see that Liv has disappeared. “She’s pretty upset with him for leaving.” Jane explains as she walks over to her old friend. “If you record any messages, I can transmit them to John.” Calliope says. “Listen, Liv is a bright spark. Maybe I should fan the flame.” Jane nods. “She’s already making fools out of her teachers, she might as well make a fool out of you.” they both chuckle. “So where are they now?” Jane asks. “Heading for Mars.” Calliope says. “The next time you hear from John and the rest of them, they’ll be coming up on Saturn.”

[ Space is dark. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOVUw1nxlek)

[0:00]

Saturn sits quietly in the cold empty void of space, sunlight glinting off its rings. No sound travels through the vacuum. All that can be heard is silence. The sound of quiet.

[0:17]

The  _ Endurance _ travels past Saturn, glinting in the sunlight as it hurtles through space at 35 kilometres per second. The ship looks miniscule from afar, and any observer may even scoff at the notion that the tiny white dot was humanity’s last hope.

[0:36]

John sits in the spinning ship, Saturn seeming to be rotating upon first glance out the window. He’s watching a message his family sent. “As far as school goes, administration wants me to repeat Plant Pathology, which sucks.” Harry says as he sits in a chair. “But they said I could start Advanced Agriculture a year early.” he smiles. John smiles back, despite the lack of need. “Alright. I gotta go dad. Hope you’re safe up there.” Harry steps out of sight.

[0:54]

Jane sits down. “Sorry John. I asked Liv to say hi, but she’s as stubborn as Roxy. We’ll try again next time.” the message ends.

[1:08]

John walks through the expansive corridors of the ring ship listening to nature sounds. He finds Jake sitting down in one of the airlocks. “You alright, Jake?” he asks, sitting down next to him. “This gets to me, old chap.” he gestures to the wall. “This.” then he hits it and for emphasis says “This.” again. “Millimeters of aluminum and then there’s nothing out there for millions of miles that won’t kill us in seconds.” John puts his hand on the other man’s shoulder. “You know that some of the greatest solo yachtsmen in the world don’t know how to swim?” Jake gets a look on his face. “Really?” “Mhm. They don’t know how. If they go overboard, just-they’re done.” he smiles at Jake. “We’re explorers, Jake. This is our boat. Here.” he hands Jake the earbuds, and the other man puts them on. Then he stands up and walks off. Jake’s worried expression turns to one of calm as he listens to the sounds of crickets, rain, and thunder. The sounds of home.

“This is from the, uh, relay probe?” John asks Jade as he stares at a picture that looks like a screenshot taken from a hyperspace jump sequence in Star Wars. Jade nods. “It was in orbit around the wormhole.” John pauses. “Was?” Jade shrugs. “It got sucked in. Anyway, this is the wormhole,” Jade makes a fist with one hand and moves a pencil in a circle around it with the other. “and every time we’d come around… we would receive images from the other side of the foreign galaxy.” “Like swinging a periscope around.” John says. Jade nods. “Exactly.” “So we’ve got a pretty good idea of what we’ll find on the other side?” Jade tips her head from side to side. “Navigationally.” Rose’s voice suddenly comes over the comms. “Guys? We’ll be approaching the wormhole in about three hours.” John licks his lips. “Time to go do my job.” he waves as he turns and walks off towards the bridge.

When John reaches the bridge, he finds Dave asleep in the second pilot seat, and Roxy and Davepeta standing around. “Hey, John? Can we stop the spinning?” Roxy asks. “Why?” John asks. “Because we’re close enough to see it now?” Roxy responds. “Alright.” “Thanks.” John, slowly but surely, the  _ Endurance _ stops spinning. The gravity ceases. Roxy suddenly points at a distant bubble shape warping space. “That’s it! That’s the wormhole!” “Say it, don’t spray it, Rox. It’s a sphere.” “Of course it is.” Davepeta says. “You thought it would just be a hole?” John shrugs. “Well, I mean, all the illustrations I’ve ever seen, I just…” Davepeta snorts. “Illustrations.” they say, grabbing a piece of paper from a notepad as well as a pen. “This is how it works. So they say you wanna go from here,” they draw an X on the top of the page. “To there.” another X at the bottom, a line drawn between them. “But it’s too far. Right?” “Mhm.” John squints. “So a wormhole bends space like this,” Davepeta says, folding the paper so the Xs touch, and sticks a pen into the paper. “So you can take a shortcut,” the pen sticks through. “Through a higher dimension.” John nods. “Okay, so. To show that, illustrators turn 3 dimensional space into 2 dimensions.” Davepeta unfolds the paper. “Which turns a wormhole into 2 dimensions, aka, a circle. And what’s a circle in 3 dimensions?” John smiles. “A sphere.” “Exactly.” Davepeta says excitedly. “Spherical Hole. But who put it there? Who do we have to thank?” “I’m not thanking anyone until we get out of here in one piece, ‘Peta.” At that moment, Terezi flies in, floating in the lack of gravity. “I heard all of that, and for a nerd, you surprisingly don’t know shit about this.” John rolls his eyes. “I’m an engineer, not a scientist.” “You’re a meteorologist.” Roxy points out. “Yeah, but not a physicist.” John responds.  
  
  


[ The  _ Endurance _ creeps towards the wormhole. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtSOtcawcfM)

[0:00]

The wormhole in question resembles a glass bubble with space inside it bending, twisting and curving. The whole crew sits on the bridge, strapped in and in awe of the sight.

[0:11]

“Any trick to this, Jake?” Dave asks, John being too shocked to speak. “Nobody knows.” is all the other man says.

[0:22]

“The others made it, right?” Terezi asks. “At least some of them.” Jade responds, not even trying to hide the fear in her voice.

[0:31]

As the  _ Endurance _ enters the radius of the wormhole, space seems to spin, buckle. It seems to become a flat plane, yet whether it curves down, up, or not whatsoever is a lost fact.

[0:42]

The ship shakes, lights flicker. Rose gulps.

[0:59]

As the ship lines up with the wormhole, John speaks. “Everybody ready to say goodbye to our solar system?” he asks, mainly to relieve the tension. “To our galaxy…” Jade points out. “Here we go.” Dave says, and the ship speeds up as it rounds the wormhole at increasing speed, until the whole thing  _ dips _ into the space-time distortion.

[1:20]

The shaking and metal scraping sounds intensify and alarms continuously blare. Around the ship, planets and stars and galaxies whiz by at faster-than-light speeds, in a tunnel shape of a sort. A churning sea of darkness and light beneath, a curving ceiling of stars and dark matter above. Nobody says anything, jaws dropped. Dave reaches over and flips some switches. “Controls won’t work here.” Davepeta says. “We’re passing through the bulk. Space beyond our three dimensions. All we can do is record and observe.” everyone goes silent again.

Jade turns her head, and Roxy follows her eyes to next to her own seat. “What is that?” Jade wonders aloud. A strange shimmer has appeared midair, twisting and manipulating space itself. “I think it’s them.” Roxy whispers. “Distorting space-time…” Davepeta says in awe. Roxy reaches her hand up, unable to resist. “Don’t, don’t!” Rose shouts. Too late, Roxy holds still as her hand warps. Although she feels nothing, it shimmers and twists slightly as the strange presence touches it. The connection feels like it lasts for hours, despite it only lasting for seconds. The  _ Endurance _ evens out, the Einstein Rosen-Bridge, the ‘tunnel’ of the wormhole, curving ‘upwards’ before vanishing as the ship arrives in space once again. The connection is lost as quickly as it began. One by one, the alarms cease. “What was that…?” Jake wonders aloud. Roxy smiles. “The first handshake.” She says. “We’re here.” Rose notes, in disbelief.

Everyone stands in the main meeting room. “So the lost communications came through.” Dave explains. “The relay on this side cached them.” “So years of basic data, no real surprises.” Rose says. “Aradia’s site has kept thumbs up, as has Dirk’s. Um… Kanaya’s went down 3 years ago.” Terezi cocks her head to the side. “Transmitter failure?” she suggests. Rose shrugs. “Maybe. She was sending thumbs up right until it went dark.” “But Aradia’s is still good right? Because she’s coming up fast.” Roxy points out. “With one complication.” Jade says. “The planet is much closer to Gargantua than we thought.” “Uh, Gargantua?” Dave asks. “It’s what we’re calling the black hole.” Davepeta explains. “Dirk’s and Aradia’s planets both orbit it.” Jade says. “Dirk’s is out of the time shift, but Aradia’s is right on the horizon. Like a basketball around the hoop.” Rose speaks next. “Landing there takes us dangerously close, and a black hole that big has huge gravitational pull.” “I could swing around the neutron star and decelerate.” Jake shakes his head. “It’s not that.” “It’s time.” Jade says.

“The gravity on that planet will slow our clock compared to Earth’s drastically.” Jade explains. “Uh, why, exactly?” Dave asks. “Don’t they teach you this stuff at Space School?” Davepeta asks half-seriously. “Technically it’s Texas University of Technological and Scientific Engineering.” Dave shoots back. “Short version,” Rose says. “Gravity slows down time. The closer you are to the source of gravity, the slower time will move.” Dave nods. “Anyway, the planet’s gravity will slow our time compared to Earth’s.” Jade continues. “How bad?” John asks. “Every hour we spend on Megido will be…” Jade gets a horrified look. “Seven years on Earth.” there’s a pause. A thick silence. “That’s relativity, folks.” Jade finishes.

“Well, we can’t just drop down there without-” John starts to say, but Roxy cuts him off. “John, we have a mission.” “Yes, Rox. We have a mission.” John says. “And our mission Plan A is to find a planet that can host the people that are living on Earth  _ now _ .” there’s a pause. “Look John, it’s hard for all of us to leave our families, but we have to think bigger than that.” Jake says. “Ok look, I am thinking about our families and millions of other families, Jake.” John says. “Plan A does not work if the people of Earth are  _ dead _ by the time we pull it off.” Jake waves his hands about in the air trying to think of a rebuttal and fails entirely. “No.” he says, and sighs. “It doesn’t.” “That’s why there’s a Plan B.” Terezi points out. “Well, John’s right.” Roxy points out. “We need to think of time as a resource. Like oxygen and food, it will cost us.” There’s a pause. “All right, look.” Rose says. “Dirk’s data is promising, but it will take months to get there. And… Kanaya’s is even further. Megido hasn’t sent much, but what she has…” “It’s very promising.” Terezi fills in. “Water, organics, you don’t find that anywhere.” “And think about the resources, including time, that would be spent getting back here.” Jade points out. “Jade, how far off from Megido does the  _ Endurance _ have to be to stay out of the time shift?” Dave asks. “Just back from the cusp. Just outside of the planet.” Jade says. John flips over a display to reveal a whiteboard.

John draws a big circle with a G, then a smaller circle with an M next to it. “Here’s Gargantua and Megido. Instead of taking the  _ Endurance _ into orbit around Megido,” he says as he draws an arrow in a circle around the M circle. “Which would conserve fuel but we would lose a lot of time, what if we take a wider orbit around Gargantua, parallel with Aradia’s planet, outside of the time shift, to here?” he draws a circular arrow around the large circle, and then draws an arrow leading from its end point down to the planet. “We take the Ranger down, we get Aradia, we get her samples,” he draws an arrow back from the planet to the symbol for the  _ Endurance _ . “We come back, we analyze, we debrief. We’re in, we’re out. We lose a lot of fuel, but we save a lot of time.” there’s a pause. “That’ll work.” Jake says. “There’s no time for monkey business or chit-chat down there, so TARS, you should definitely stay here.” Rose says. TARS looks at her. “CASE, you’re with me. Anyone else can stay.” John says. “I’m going.” Terezi says. “As the Marine Ecologist and Hydrologist of this mission, I should go. If there’s water, I’m all eyes.” Rose nods. “I’m going too. I’m the Senior Biologist and Commander.” “You might need some assistant flying too.” Dave says. “Avionics Engineer and Navigator. You might need a Chemist out there too.” Jade speaks last. “If we’re talking a couple years, I could use the time to analyze and research gravity. Observations from the wormhole, that’s gold to Callie.” “TARS, factor an orbit of Gargantua.” Jake says. “Conserve fuel, minimize thrusting. But make sure we stay in range of Megido. You got it?” TARS makes an action reminiscent of nodding. “I wouldn’t leave you behind…” he says to the crew, then looks at Rose. “Dr. Lalonde.”

“You ready, CASE?” John asks as the robot sits in the onboard computer spot, with John, Rose, Dave, and Terezi sitting around the cockpit. “Yep.” is all the robot says. “You don’t say much, do you?” Terezi asks. “TARS talks plenty for the both of us.” is once again, all the robot says. “Detach.” John says, and  _ Ranger One _ launches from the  _ Endurance _ . “Jade, are you reading these forces?” John asks. “Unbelievable.” Jade says as she stares up at the black hole. A celestial in its own right. A sphere of black surrounded by light of its accretion disk, curving around it. “A literal heart of darkness.” Jade says. “If we could just see the collapsed star inside, the singularity, we’d solve gravity.” “Yeah, but since nothing escapes the horizon, not even light, we’re gonna have a hell of a time trying to get anything.” Davepeta points out. “The answer’s there, just no way to see it.” Jake says. “There’s Megido’s planet, dead ahead.” Rose says, staring down at the bluish planet wreathed in cloud orbiting the black hole. “See you soon, John.” Roxy says. “Much sooner for me, Roxy.” John says. “Goodbye Ranger.” Jade says.

The ship shakes as it flies into the planet’s atmosphere. “This is fast for atmospheric entry.” CASE says. “Should we use the thrusters to slow?” “No.” John says. “I’m gonna use the Ranger’s aerodynamics to save some fuel.” “Airbrake?” CASE asks in a slightly shocked voice. “We wanna get down fast, don’t we?” Dave asks. “Actually we want to get down in one piece.” Rose says. “Hang on.” John says. “Lalonde, Pyrope, get ready.” CASE says. The ship shakes even more violently as Dave and John practically glide it. A few alarms sound. “We should ease!” CASE says. “Hands where I can see ‘em, CASE. The only time I’ve ever gone down was when a machine was easing at the wrong time.” John says. “A little caution would-” CASE starts to say, but John cuts him off. “Can get you killed, just like reckless driving!” “Strider, Egbert, it’s too damn fast!” “We got this.” Dave reassures. “Should I disable the feedback?” CASE asks. “Leave it. We need to feel the air.” Dave says. “Here we go.” John mutters. The Ranger exits the clouds and soars above… water. “It’s just water!” Dave shouts over the sound. “The stuff of life!” Terezi points out. “1200 meters.” CASE says. “Do we have a fix on the beacon?” John asks. “Got it! Can you maneuver?” CASE asks. “I’ll need to shave some speed.” John says, then makes a gesture to Dave, who nods. “We’re gonna spiral down on top of it, everybody hang on!” John says. The Ranger turns at an angle and flies in a massive spiral over the water. “700!” CASE shouts. “On my cue, CASE, on my cue…” John says. “500 meters!” The Ranger continues the spiral. There’s a pause. “Fire!” Shouts John, and the Ranger’s engines fire, causing it to come to a stop over the water and even out. The ship lowers its landing gears and sets down smoothly on the surface of the expansive ocean. “Very graceful.” Terezi says sarcastically. “Very efficient.” John shoots back.

[ ”What are you waiting for?” John asks. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwues9rwAIY)

[0:00]

“Go, go, go, go!” he says, as CASE, Rose, Dave, and Terezi get out and head towards the back hatch. “Seven years per hour here! Let’s make them count!”

[0:04]

The Ranger’s back hatch slides open, and the crewmembers and CASE step out one by one. The water isn’t very deep, only a few feet, going up to their knees. Everyone takes a moment to stare at the distant mountains ringing their ocean.

[0:30]

“This way.” CASE says, leading the three crew members away from the Ranger. “About 200 meters.” The crew marches through the water, their feet heavy on the ground.

[0:50]

“Gravity’s punishing.” Dave says. “Been floating through space too long?” Rose asks. “130% Earth gravity.” CASE says. “Come on, come oooon…” John mutters as he watches the crew walk the two hundred meters towards the beacon’s location.

[0:58]

“There’s nothing here.” Dave says, indicating the flat water with no sign of metal anywhere. “Should be right here.” CASE says. “Well, if the signal is coming from here, then…” Rose says.

[1:05]

CASE extends arm-like appendages and digs through the water, revealing a crushed and loose piece of metal. “Her beacon.” Rose mutters. Terezi turns and keeps walking as Rose and Dave stand and stare. “I’m heading back, hold on.” Rose says, and heads towards the Ranger. CASE picks up the beacon and slowly follows.

[1:24]

“Wreckage…” Dave wonders aloud as Rose proceeds back. “Where’s the rest?” “Towards the mountains!” Terezi shouts, pointing at the distant shapes.

[1:30]

John squints to get a better look at the distant shapes, and his heart practically leaps out of his chest. “Those aren’t mountains,” he says. “They’re waves.”

[1:38]

Terezi looks closer at them and notes the rippling at the top. “Oh shit, oh shit, shit shit shit…” she mutters and runs faster. “Recommending mission abort, back to the ranger!” Rose shouts.

[1:45]

“That one’s moving away from us.” John says as Rose climbs inside.  _ Which means… _ his brain voice says. He looks at Rose, and she goes pale.

[1:54]

“We need the recorder.” Terezi says as she advances on the metal remnants of the data recording. Rose and John look out the back of the Ranger.  _ Oh god. _

[2:02]

The wave approaching them is easily only a few hundred meters away and reaches the clouds. “Dave, Terezi, back to the Ranger now!” Rose shouts as she and John duck back inside to start up the ship. “We’re not leaving without her data!” Terezi shouts back, while Dave remains transfixed by the wave.

[2:12]

“Get back here now! We do not have time!” John shouts. “A second wave is coming, we are in the middle of a swell!”

[2:18]

“I got it!” Terezi shouts, and begins to pull on the data recorder to detach it from the metal. “Get your ass back to the Ranger,  _ now! _ ” John shouts. As Terezi pulls on it, she slips and gets caught underneath it. “Fuck.” she mutters. “Pyrope, get back here, NOW!” John shouts. Dave turns and sees the source of commotion, snapping out of his stupor.

[2:30]

“No, guys go.” Terezi says as she stares at the wave, easily nearly a mile high. “I can’t make it. Go!”  _ I’m sorry Vriska. _ She thinks.

[2:34]

“CASE, go get her!” Dave shouts, and the robot drops the beacon, turning into a wheel like shape and rolling off towards Terezi. “Go!” she shouts. “Get up. Get up Pyrope!” Rose shouts.

[2:44]

“Go, go go, go!” Dave shouts as CASE rolls past him, the wave nearby now blotting out part of the sky. “I’m not gonna make it!” Terezi shouts. “Yes you are, yes you are!” John shouts back.  _ We’re not losing anybody. _ CASE reverts back to normal form as he reaches Terezi and extends his ‘arms’, lifting the metal off her and picking her up.

[2:54]

“C’mon, CASE has her, CASE has her, get back here Dave!” John shouts. Dave and CASE charge back to the Ranger as the wave gets closer and closer, the former going slower. “C’mon!” Rose shouts. “Get to the hatch!” John says.

[3:10]

Dave reaches the hatch the same time as CASE does. “Go, go, go!” he shouts, letting the robot off-load Terezi inside. Alarms blare as John rushes to the hatch controls.

[3:18]

The wave is terrifyingly close now, Dave is paralyzed for a moment in fear before trying to get back inside. “Shit.” John mutters.  _ C’mon Terezi, grab him NOW. _ Part of him says, but the rest of him knows that there’s no time.

[3:21]

“Manually overriding inside hatch!” John shouts as the wave looms massive. Terezi reaches out to Dave, their hands inches apart.

[3:26]

The impact pushes Dave aside and throws him out of sight. “JOHN! JOHN! DON’T CLOSE THE DOOR YET!” Terezi shouts as the hatch begins to close. The full force of the wave hits and jolts the Ranger upwards. “Engines are flooded! We’re gonna have to shut her down!” John shouts. Rose straps herself in and John holds on to the seats, CASE grabbing and securing Terezi as the Ranger tosses and turns up the massive wave. “Look!” Rose shouts as they reach the top and John straps in. “Holy shit.” he mutters as the Ranger crests the top of the wave and goes down the other side. “Hang on!” John shouts. The Ranger settles out. CASE lets Terezi go. John hits a few controls, but nothing happens. “CASE, what’s wrong!?” he shouts. “Too waterlogged, let it drain.” CASE explains. “GodDAMMIT!” he shouts, slamming the controls. Even thicker on his mind besides the being stuck factor is the awful truth.  _ Dave’s gone. _

“I told you to leave me! Why didn’t you!?” Terezi shouts at him. “And I told you to get your ass back here!” John shouts back. “The difference is that one of us was thinking about the mission!” “John, you were thinking about going home!” Terezi shouts back, crying. “I was trying to do the right thing!” John sighs. “Can you tell that to Dave?” “He should’ve moved as soon as he saw that wave.” Terezi states. “He had fear paralysis! He was terrified!” John shouts back. “STOP IT!” Rose shouts, and both of them turn to her. “Just… stop it. There’s nothing we can do now. John, stand here, Terezi stand over there. We could all use some time alone.” Terezi reluctantly moves and sits at the back, quietly crying into her hand. “CASE, how much time?” Rose asks. “Over 3 hours. It’s pretty badly waterlogged.” Rose sits down and sighs, wiping her eyes. John sits across from her. “What’s this gonna cost us?” he mutters. “Decades.” Rose practically whispers. “So what happened to Aradia?” John wonders aloud. Terezi speaks up. “Judging by the wreckage, she was broken up by a wave soon after impact. Because of the time slippage, she just landed hours ago. She probably died hours ago too.” John sighed. “The data we received was just the initial data echoing endlessly.” CASE explains. Rose nods solemnly. “We are not prepared for this.” she says.

Nobody says anything for a while until CASE speaks. “Two hours to go.” John turns to Rose, everyone still busy grieving. His thoughts keep wandering to his kids. To Roxy. “Is there any way that we can all, reverse-jump a black hole or whatever, gain back the years?” he whispers. Rose shrugs. “Time is relative. It can stretch and squeeze, but it can’t go backwards. The only thing that can move across dimensions like time is gravity.” “The beings that led us here communicate through gravity, right? Could they be talking to us from the future?” John asks. Rose shrugs again. “‘They’ are beings of five dimensions. Time is probably another physical dimension for them. To them, the past might be a canyon they can climb down into and the future a mountain they can climb up, but not to us.”

There’s another long pause. “CASE, how long has it been?” Terezi asks. “One hour, 37 minutes.” CASE says. Terezi sighs. “She’ll be 26.” Terezi mutters. “Oh god, she’ll be 26. I promised them I would be home in 10 years, tops. She’s waited for nearly double that.” Terezi cries again, silently.

“My daughter was 10 years old.” John mutters to Rose. “I couldn’t teach her Einstein’s theories before I left.” Rose looks at him. “Couldn’t you have told her you were going to save the world?” Rose asks. John sighs. “No. I don’t know if you realized this, but when you become a parent, one thing becomes really clear, and that is making sure that your children feel safe. Which rules out telling a 10-year old the world is ending.” Rose nods slowly. “I did realize that, John. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that I left my daughter easily. That’s a scar I’m going to carry with me for the rest of my life, regardless of how long I live.” she sniffles. “One hour left.” CASE says. “I’m going to go get that recorder, the waves look pretty far off, okay?” Terezi says. “Pyrope, don’t-” John starts to say, but she’s already left. “Let her be, John.” Rose mutters. Terezi comes back a few minutes later carrying the data recorder, and just sits in silence fiddling with it.

“Egbert.” CASE says as a rumbling sounds out over an hour later. The crew looks out the windows to see another wave advancing, getting closer and closer. “CASE, how much time!?” John asks. “A minute or two.” CASE says. “Well we don’t have it.” John says, and everyone straps in. “Helmets on! CASE, blow the cabin oxygen through the rear thrusters!” he says as he gets on his helmet. “We’re gonna spark it!” “Roger that.” CASE says. “Locked. Depressurizing.” on the back of the Ranger, fire temporarily spits out of the engines as they’re cleared by the sudden oxygen rush. “Engines up!” John shouts, and the Ranger takes flight, soaring past the oncoming wave and narrowly missing it.

On the planet below, the corpse of Dave Strider floats quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I updated this, and I know that you people probably don't care.


	4. Act Three: Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act Three of Seven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here, after quite some time. This is for you, GraphiteHat.

[ The door of the airlock slides open. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUooEWENbTc)

[0:00]

John, Rose, and Terezi stare at the crew. Jade, Jake, Davepeta, TARS, Roxy. “Hey Rox.” John says quietly. “We’ve waited years.” Jake says quietly. “How-how many years?” Rose asks slowly. “By now it must be…” Jade says, and TARS finishes the sentence. “Twenty-three years, four months, eight days.” “Dave?” Jade asks, while Davepeta looks on with a crestfallen expression.  _ They already know what happened. _ Nobody says anything. “Aradia?” Jake asks. “There’s nothing here for us.” Rose says. Jade sighs and speaks. “We learned what we could from the black hole, but we couldn’t send anything to Callie. We’ve been receiving, but nothing gets out.” Terezi goes to them, eyes wet. “Is she alive?” she asks. Jake nods. “Little older though.” Terezi nods. “Oh.” she says, sniffling. “Good.” “We’ve got years of messages stored.

[1:10]

John heads past the others and to the messages room, Roxy following him. “I’ve already seen them. I’ll be right out here, okay baby?” Roxy says. John nods and sniffles, heading inside the room and closing the door behind him.

[1:20]

As John sits down, he speaks. “Message log: John Egbert and Roxy Lalonde.” he says quietly. “Messages span 23 years.” the monotone robotic voice says. He takes a deep breath. “Play from the beginning.”

[1:32]

Harry appears on screen. He looks about the same age, but his voice is deeper. “Hey mom, hey dad. Just checking in. Saying hi. Um… finished third in school! Miss Jenning’s still giving me C’s, so that pulled me back, but third’s not bad.” John smiles in a small fit of joy and pride, his eyes growing wet with tears again. “Uh… oh! I met another girl dad. I, uh… I really think this is the one. It’s Lilith. You know, Kanaya and Rose’s kid? Got a photo of her right there.” Harry holds up a photo of the two of them together, and John sobs, wiping his face on his arm. “Liv stole Jane’s car, she crashed it, she’s okay though. Jane’s not at her best though. Blight’s getting to her.” the message ends, and the next one starts.

[2:16]

Harry’s in his 20s now, definitely. “Hey mom and dad, look at this.” he holds a baby up in front of him. “You guys are grandparents now. His name’s Jordan. I kind of wanted to call him Johnathan, but Lilith says maybe next time.” John smiles at that. “Jane says… said… that he’s already earned the ‘great’ part, so we’ll just leave it at that.” Jordan makes some noises. “Oh dear, here.” an off-screen female voice says, and a pair of hands picks up the baby. “Say bye bye grandpa.” the woman says again. Jordan makes a noise. “Bye bye grandpa. Okay.” John waves goodbye to Jordan.

[2:45]

Harry’s in his 30s now, he’s got a bit of a beard too. “Sorry it’s been a while. Just… what, with Jordan and all…” Harry buries his face in his hands. “Uh…” he faces the screen again. “Karkat died last week. Lung cancer. We buried him out in the same private graveyard next to… Jane… and Jordan. Which is where we would’ve buried you two if you’d ever… come back.” John sighs. “Liv was there at the funeral, and… we don’t see her much anymore, but she came for that. You… you’re not listening to this, I know that. All these messages are just floating around in space. Drifting out there in the darkness.” John sniffles. “Lilith says that, uh… I should let you go,” John shakes his head.  _ I’m not dead yet. I’m coming back. _ “So I guess this is me. Letting you go.” Harry sighs. “I don’t know where you are dad, mom, but… I hope you’re at peace.” John shakes his head.  _ No, I’m not. As sure as hell not after watching this. _ “Bye.” Harry says.

[4:05]

The video cuts out, the last message ended. John sniffles. He grasps the sides of the messages screen and sighs.  _ I’m sorry _ he thinks.

[4:13]

Liv’s adult face appears on screen. There’s a pause before she speaks. “Hey dad, hey mom.” she says. “Hey Liv.” John whispers. “Dad especially. You son of a bitch. I never made one of these when you were still responding, because I was still mad at you for leaving. And when you went quiet, it seemed like I should have to live with that decision, and I have. But today’s my birthday.” here her voice breaks as she speaks. “And it’s a special one, because you once told me… you once told me that when you came back, we might be the same age. And today I’m the age you were when you left.” John’s crying again. He starts sobbing again. “So now would be a real good time for you to come back.” Liv says, wiping her eyes and ending the message.

Earth.

Liv turns to see Calliope watching her. “I don’t mean to intrude,” the cherub says. “It’s just that I’ve never seen you here before.” Liv sighs. “I’ve never been here before.” “I talk to Roxy and Jade all the time. It helps. I’m glad you’ve started.” Calliope says. “I haven’t. I just had something I needed to get out.” Liv says. “I know they’re still out there.” Calliope says as the two of them walk through the NASA facility. “There are so many reasons that their communications might not be getting through.” the two of them enter Calliope’s office, half of the gravity equation written on blackboards. “I’m not sure what I’m more afraid of.” Calliope says, and sighs. “Them never coming back or… coming back to find we’ve failed.” “Then let’s succeed.” Liv says. “So… back to the fourth iteration. Let’s run it through some fields.” “With respect, professor, we’ve tried that hundreds of times.” “It only has to work once, Liv.”

As Calliope and Liv sit overlooking the rocket where engineers work, Calliope speaks. “Every rivet they strike could have been a bullet. We’ve done well for the world here… whether or not we crack the equation before I kick the bucket.” “Don’t be morbid, professor.” Liv says. Calliope chuckles. “I’m not afraid of death. Blight-induced lung cancer doesn’t scare me. I’m an old physicist, I’m afraid of time.” Liv’s expression changes. “Time.” she mutters.

The two of them stand back in the office overlooking the blackboards. “You’re afraid of time.” Liv says. “For years we’ve been trying to solve the equation without changing the underlying assumption about time.” Calliope tilts her head to the side. “And that means?” “Each iteration is an attempt to prove its own proof. It’s recursive. Nonsensical.” Liv states. Calliope exclaims. “Are you calling my life’s work nonsense, Liv?” “No. No, no.” Liv says quickly. “I’m saying that you’ve been trying to finish it with one arm, no,  _ both _ arms tied behind your back. And I don’t understand why.” Calliope sighs. “I’m tired, Liv. Can we take this up at another time?”

John only says three words to Roxy as the two of them lie side by side on their bed. “We left them.” his eyes are wet. “We’ll go back.” Roxy says, trying to cheer him up. “We’ll see them again.” “But they hate us. And we’re still nowhere near done.” John says, but Roxy cuts him off. “Hey.” she says. “Come here.” she hugs him close, and the two of them stay like that for a while as Roxy murmurs “We’ll fix this.”. Neither says anything else.

“So are you and Davepeta…?” Rose asks Jade. Jade nods. “23 years alone, regardless of how much time of that is spent in cryo, is more than enough time to get to know somebody.” she says. “Plus, it helps as coping with the thought that both Karkat  _ and _ Dave are dead.” “Two people you spent years pining after if I remember correctly.” Rose says. Jade opens her mouth to say something at first, but nods instead. “But that’s in the past. And I love somebody else now.” Rose speaks up after a pause. “We’ve lost Dave, Jane, Karkat, Sollux, and Aradia. Jesus. How many more?” Jade puts her hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “We’ve made it this far. We’re going to make it the rest of the way.” Rose nods with an  _ I hope so _ expression.

“Stepping out into the universe, we must confront the reality of interstellar travel.” Calliope says over the video message as Roxy watches, trying not to cry. “We must reach far beyond our own life spans. We must think not as individuals, but as a species. Do not go gentle into that good night.”

“TARS kept the  _ Endurance _ right where we needed her, but the trip took years longer than we anticipated.” John says, pacing the room in which everyone sits scattered about. “We no longer have the fuel to visit both prospects, so we have to choose.”  
“But how are we supposed to decide? They’re both promising.” Jade says.  
“Maryam’s data is better, but Strider is the one still transmitting.” Davepeta says.  
“We have no reason to suspect that Kanaya’s data may have soured.” Rose says. “Her world has key elements to sustain human life.”  
“As does Dirk’s.” John says. “John, this is my field.” Rose responds. “And… I really believe Kanaya’s is the better prospect.” Terezi sighs at that.  
“Why?” Jake asks.  
“Gargantua. That’s why. Look at Aradia’s planet. Hydrocarbons, organics, yes, but no life. Sterile. We’ll find the same thing on Dirk’s.”  
“Because of the black hole?” Jade asks.  
Rose nods. “It orbits very close around Gargantua about 90% of the time. Murphy’s Law dictates that whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and since accident is the first building block of evolution, time is a necessity. But when you’re orbiting a black hole, not enough can happen. It sucks in asteroids, comets, and other events which would otherwise reach you. We need to go further afield.”  
Jake sighs. “You once said that Dirk was the best of us.” he says.  
“He’s remarkable,” Rose agrees. “And we’re only here because of him.”  
“And yet here he is.” John says. “He’s on the ground, and sending a very unambiguous message telling us to come to his planet.”  
“Granted, but Kanaya’s data is better.” Rose responds.  
“We should vote.” Roxy proposes.

“One for Dirk’s and one for Kanaya’s.” Roxy says, gesturing to John and Rose. “I’m with Rose on this one. I trust the data.”  
“I’m also going with Rose on this one.” Jade says. “The black hole keeps sucking in all of our radio transmissions, but maybe if we distance ourselves we might be able to transmit the quantum data to NASA.” there’s a pause as other people go over their options in their heads.  
“Dirk’s.” Jake says. “He’s closer, and I’d rather investigate that before we decide to spend a year’s worth of fuel and get stuck somewhere else.”  
“I’ll go with Dirk as well.” Terezi says. “I trust Jake’s decision. Surprisingly.”  
“Davepeta?” John asks. The hybrid shrugs.  
“I don’t know. My Dave side trusts the constant data transmission, but my Nepeta side prefers the better data. I’m split and biased. Give me something to work with here.” They say.  
“Speaking of biases,” John says, looking Rose dead in the eyes. “You can’t let your love of Kanaya get in the way of this.”  
“That has nothing to do with it.” Rose says, but speaks after a pause. “But she’s there, and that makes me want to follow my heart. Look, maybe we’ve spent too long trying to figure all of this out with simple theory.”  
“You’re a scientist, Rose-” John starts, but she cuts him off. “So listen to me when I say that love isn’t something we invented, John, it’s… observable, powerful. It has to mean something.”  
“Love has meaning, yes.” Jake argues. “Social utility, social bonding, child rearing.”  
“We love people who have died.” Rose shoots back. “Where’s the social utility in that?”  
Jake pauses. “None.”

“Maybe it means something more, something we can’t  _ yet _ understand. Maybe it’s some evidence, some artifact of a higher dimension that we can’t consciously perceive. I’m drawn across the universe to someone I haven’t seen in over a decade, John, who I know is probably dead.” Rose’s voice begins to break as she speaks. “Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can’t understand it yet.” there’s a pause as what Rose is saying settles in. “Alright John, yes.” she says, smiling. “The tiniest possibility of seeing her again excites me. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”  
“Honestly, Rose?” John says. “It might.”   
ose sniffles, stands up, and walks off the bridge as Davepeta looks at John with a face that says their answer.  
“TARS, chart a course for Dr. Strider’s.” John says as Roxy goes after Rose to comfort her.

“Rose. He’s sorry.” Roxy says. “You were just being objective.” Rose sniffles.  
“If he’s wrong, he might have a very personal decision to make. His fuel calculations are based on the return journey. If we strike out on Dirk’s planet, we’ll have to decide whether to return home, or to proceed on to Kanaya’s with Plan B, starting a colony which could save us from extinction.” Rose sighs, and looks her sister figure in the eyes.  
“He might have to choose- _ you two _ might have to choose between seeing your children again and the future of the human race. I trust he’ll be as objective then.” Roxy nods.  
“C’mere.” she says, and hugs Rose.

Earth.

Liv sits on a chair in the NASA facility, Calliope currently taking a much needed rest. “How are you doing, Liv?” a worker asks, sitting down next to her.  
“Just fine, Ledward. You good?” the man nods.  
“Just taking a breather.” they sit there in silence, watching engineers fiddle with tech. “Think we’ll make it?” Ledward asks. Liv nods.  
“Of course we will.” she says.  
Ledward leaves after a minute or two. “My back hurts.” he mutters.

Liv combs through the Lazarus Mission portfolios again to pass the time.

TORRENCE, DANIEL

Lazarus 1

_ A human male astronomer, atmospheric physicist, and astrophysicist assigned the robotic companion of PLEX (Programming Language Extension) and Ranger 1, engineering codename Blaze. Torrence fits in due to a lack of interest in social interaction, rendering him without any attachments of any kind. He is stern and unemotional, therefore he is not distracted by feelings. _

CAPTOR, SOLLUX

Lazarus 2

_ A gold troll male engineer, navigator, and chemist assigned the robotic companion of RIIG (Root Integrated Index Gateway) and Ranger 2, engineering codename Stern. Captor exerts a surprisingly calming influence at times and has very little complaints about anything. _

ANVIEN, RASNOR

Lazarus 3

_ A cobalt troll male astrophysicist, chemist, and oceanologist assigned the robotic companion of BASE (Bioarray Automated Software Engineer) and Ranger 3, engineering codename Dagger. Anvien fits in due to his status as a social person willing to do everything to hold the crew together while still leaving Earth. _

STRIDER, DIRK

Lazarus 4

_ A human male engineer, aerologist, biologist, and mission commander assigned the robotic companion of KIPP (Kilobyte Intelligence Professional Program) and Ranger 4, engineering codename Source. As the first person to volunteer for the mission and prepared to give his life, he is considered an ideal leader for the mission, especially given his status as a previous god. _

JACKSON, ROBERT

Lazarus 5

_ A human male geologist, geophysicist, and tech support worker assigned the robotic companion of FORM (Flexible Operating Resourceful Machine) and Ranger 5, engineering codename Maw. An honest man with a vendetta against conflict of any kind, Jackson is a good fit with his lack of attachments to anybody back on Earth. _

KAGRIX, AIRLIT

Lazarus 6

_ A bronze troll male doctor, cytologist, and ecologist assigned the robotic companion of DOSS (Data Operated Support System) and Ranger 6, engineering codename Bolt. Closed off from friendliness but sociable nonetheless, Kagrix’s lack of any connections of any kind and incredible patience makes him a prime fit. _

UPWORTH, CHRISTINA

Lazarus 7

_ A human female atmospheric chemist, meteorologist, and biochemist assigned the robotic companion of GOSS (Gigabyte Operated Support System) and Ranger 7, engineering codename Crown. Her dedication to doing things by the book and choosing humanity and alternianity over individuals makes her a good candidate. _

GROVES, SAVANNAH

Lazarus 8

_ A human female engineer, pilot, and biologist assigned the robotic companion of MONO (Mainframe Online Neural Operations) and Ranger 8, engineering codename Cross. Having served as an effective technician of NASA for years, her willingness to do everything to save humans and trolls no matter the circumstances is important in the long run. _

MEGIDO, ARADIA

Lazarus 9

_ A rust troll female meteorologist, biologist, and biophysicist assigned the robotic companion of ARES (Advanced Regional Exploration System) and Ranger 9, engineering codename Clamp. Despite her odd social habits, she can be serious when she needs to be. Her intelligence and enthusiasm make her important, if not central, to the mission. _

SHAW, SAMIRA

Lazarus 10

_ A human female medical expert, astronomer, and marine biologist assigned the robotic companion of REES (Radar Electromagnetic Environmental Surveyor) and Ranger 10, engineering codename Case. Her lack of any attachments of any kind, decent social skills, and prior work as a NASA medical worker make her fit in perfectly. _

ITHAKA, KHOSIR

Lazarus 11

_ An olive troll female geographer, geologist, and glaciologist assigned the robotic companion of DEUS (Data Encryption Unicode Scanner) and Ranger 11, engineering codename Rain. As one of the best of the best scientists and a very thick-skinned woman capable of weathering any storm, social or natural, she is a prime candidate for the mission. _

MARYAM, KANAYA

Lazarus 12

_ A jade troll female biologist, botanist, and particle physicist assigned the robotic companion of SOLE (Systems Operations Language Encryptor) and Ranger 12, engineering codename Kin. A last pick over engineer, pilot, and meteorologist John Egbert due to the Straights Incident, Maryam proves a calm and effective operative, and a key part of the mission. _

Liv has a moment of pause when she finishes reading Kanaya’s short portfolio.

_ A last pick over engineer, pilot, and meteorologist John Egbert due to the Straights Incident. _

If John hadn’t crashed… he wouldn’t be on the  _ Endurance _ Mission.

Could  _ They _ have done it?

Liv sets her thoughts aside when a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. “Hey Liv.” a man’s voice says. “Hey Scarlet.” Liv says, smiling. “How are you doing?” the teal troll asks. “Fine, but since I haven’t seen you for a week, less fine.” Liv says. “Any luck with the equation?” Scarlet asks as Liv turns to face him. “Nothing.” Liv says, and sighs. “We’re getting nowhere. She’s doing the calculations wrong. But I don’t know how to fix it.” Scarlet gives Liv a rub on the shoulder. “You can do it.” Liv chuckles. “Well, additional morale boosting has got to count for something.” she says.

“We’ll lose about a third again.” Harry says, surveying the controlled burn of corn in the fields next to his old house. Liv stands next to him. “But next year… next year I’m going to work at Jackson English’s farm and we’ll make up for it.” he says. “What happened to Jackson?” Liv asks. Harry doesn’t say anything, but heads back to his house. Their old house. Liv follows. “Would you like some more souffle?” Lilith asks Liv as her, Liv, Harry, and her son Johnathan sit around a table eating lunch. “No, I’m full, thanks. It was delicious.” Liv says. “John, finish your fritter please.” Harry says to his son. “Will you spend the night?” Lilith asks. “Your room is exactly as you left it.” Liv sighs and shakes her head. “I… I need to get back.” “My sewing machine is in there, but there’s plenty-” Lilith says, but Liv speaks again. “I need to… too many memories.” Johnathan coughs heavily for a moment. “The dust.” he explains to Liv. “Lilith, I have a friend that could take a look at his lungs.” Liv says. Lilith nods.

[ Liv rushes to the medical bay. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8536dS0B-8)

[0:00]

“She’s been asking for you since she woke up.” Scarlet says as Liv hurries into the room where Calliope lies on a hospital bed, colour drained from her green face. “We were trying to reach you…” Scarlet mutters. “Hey.” Liv says to Calliope as she crouches down next to the cherub, who mutters “Liv.” “I’m here professor.” Liv says.

[0:14]

“I… I let you all down.” Calliope says in a somber voice. “No, you got us so far. Real close.” Liv says. “I’ll finish what you started.” “Good, good, Liv.” Calliope says in a ragged voice. “You had… faith. All those… all those years. I asked you to have faith. I wanted you to believe… that your mother and your father… would come back.”

[0:54]

“I do, professor.” Liv says, but her changed tone suggests otherwise.  _ What are you saying, Calliope? _ Her brain wonders. “Forgive me Liv.” Calliope says. “There’s nothing to forgive.” Liv says. Calliope seems to struggle with herself to say the next words.

[1:09]

“I… I lied, Liv. I lied to you.”

_ What? _

“There was no need for them to… to come back. There… there is no way to help us.” Liv stares at the cherub, shocked. “But Plan A… all this. All these people. And the equation.” Calliope shakes her head. “Did my parents know? Did they leave me?” Liv asks.

[1:52]

“Do… not…” Calliope mutters. “No.” Liv says. “Go… gentle… into…” Calliope goes silent. Next to Liv, the heart monitor begins to flatline. “No!” Liv half-shouts. “You can’t leave!” Scarlet puts his hand on Liv’s shoulder. She shakes free. “You-no…” Liv mutters.

[2:15]

“Mom, I’m sorry to tell you that Calliope died today.” Liv says, sitting in the messages room. “She had no pain… she was at peace. I’m very sorry for your loss.” Liv reaches over to turn off the camera and end the message, but stops. She sits for what feels like an eternity but is more like ten seconds before she decides to speak.

[2:37]

“Rose, did you know?” Liv says over the message as CASE watches it play out live. “She told you, right?” Liv sniffles. “You knew. This was all a sham.”

[2:50]

As Liv speaks, CASE looks out the window of the  _ Endurance _ . “You left us here.” Ranger 1 slowly advances towards the white planet below the ship. Dirk’s planet. “To suffocate.” Liv sniffles again. “To starve.”

[3:06]

Ranger 1 soars past the clouds above Dirk’s world. John and Jake are flying. Everyone else sits in the chairs around the cabin. Nobody says anything.

[3:27]

The Ranger bumps up against a cloud and breaks part of it off. Some alarms sound. “Frozen cloud.” John says. “Minor structural damage. Repairable.” John switches off the alarms.

[3:36]

The landscape is snowy, cold, rocky, and infinite. It seems to go on forever. The Ranger sets down and John walks up to the top of a ridge, the others following close behind, TARS included.

[4:00]

On the other side of the ridge is an american flag, a small pod next to it. Black and orange in colouration, it stands in stark contrast to the white and blue of the area around it. The crew silently makes their way around to the entrance, one thought present in all of their heads.  _ This could be humanity’s last hope. _

[4:21]

The inner airlock door to Dirk’s pod slides open with a  _ clunk _ . One by one, the astronauts step inside. Supply boxes are lying all over the floor, empty. A dismantled robot sits in the corner. The real prize sits in the corner of the room. The cryopod.

The crew pull off their helmets and gloves. Rose brushes away some ice from the handle of the pod, which she turns. There’s a  _ clunk _ noise as the locks on the side release and the cryopod door slides open, revealing the bag inside. It emerges from the water in which it is submerged, a vague human form inside. Jake rips open the bag by its cord, slowly but surely, and reaches in to feel for Dirk’s pulse as he moves the bag aside.

[ Dirk sits up with a start. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z9-Df27aH4)

[0:00]

Jake helps him sit up and looks him in the eyes. Dirk doesn’t say anything when he sees the other man, just starts sobbing and crying, letting Jake hug him. “It’s okay.” Jake mutters. “It’s okay.” Dirk continues to sob into Jake’s shoulder. “It’s okay.”

[0:43]

“Pray you never learn…” Dirk says, wrapped in a hypothermia blanket. “Just how good it can be to see another face.” he pauses, looking at the others assembled around him. “I hadn’t a lot of hope to begin with, but after so long, I had none. My supplies were completely exhausted. The last time I went to sleep, I didn’t even set a waking date. You have literally raised me from the dead.” he says.

[1:20]

“Lazarus.” Terezi says, and Dirk nods. “What about the others?” he asks. “Afraid you’re it, Dirk.” Jake says. “So far, surely?” Dirk says, a look of bargaining on his face. “Well, our present situation is that there’s very little chance of rescuing any others.” Roxy says. Dirk’s face falls. “Dirk. Dirk?” Rose says. “Tell us about your world.” Dirk nods and sniffles.

[1:48]

“Our world, we hope.” Dirk says. “Our world, uh… is cold, stark, yet undeniably beautiful.”

[2:00]

Dirk leads the rest of the astronauts outside and over the rocky expanse, gesturing around as he speaks. “The days are 67 hours long, cold. The nights are 67 far colder hours. The gravity is a very… very pleasant 80% of Earth’s.”

[2:25]

He continues when he makes it back to the pod. Rose, John, Jake, Roxy, Jade, Terezi, Davepeta, and Dirk stand around the cryopod, using it as a table. TARS stands nearby. “Now up here, where I landed, the water is alkali, and the air has too much ammonia in it to breath for more than a few minutes, but down at the surface…” he pauses for emphasis, “and there is a surface… the chlorine dissipates. The ammonia gives way to crystalline hydrocarbons. Breathable air.” he smiles. “Organics. Possibly even… to life.” Rose smiles. “We might be sharing this world.” Dirk finishes. “These readings are from the surface?” Rose asks. Dirk nods. “Over the years I’ve dropped various probes.” “How far have you explored?” Terezi asks. “I’ve mounted several major expeditions, but with oxygen in short supply, KIPP there really did most of the legwork.” he gestures to the dismantled robot in the corner. “What went wrong with him, sir?” TARS asks. “Degeneration.” Dirk says. “He misidentified the first organics we found as ammonia crystals. We struggled on for a time, but ultimately I decommissioned him, and used his power source to keep the mission going.” he shrugs. “Would you like me to look at him?” TARS asks. Dirk shakes his head. “No, he needs a human touch.”

TARS tenses up. “Both Dr. Lalondes, CASE is relaying a message to you two from the comms station.” Rose nods, and Roxy follows. John goes over with them. They all stare at the small screen on which the image of a black-haired woman appears. Liv. “Mom, I’m sorry to tell you that Calliope died today.” she says. Roxy makes a small gasp and covers her mouth with her hand. “She had no pain… she was at peace. I’m very sorry for your loss.” Rose turns to John. “Is that Liv? She’s… she’s grown.” Liv speaking again draws their attention again. “Rose, did you know? She told you, right? You knew. This was all a sham.” Rose’s expression falls. John’s eyes well up. “You left us here. To suffocate. To starve.” Liv says. She starts to cry. “Did my parents know too? Dad? Mom? I just want to know… if you left me here to die.” she’s sobbing now, John watching with a silent horror. “I just have to know.” Liv says, and then the message ends. Rose turns to John.

“I swear, Calliope dedicated the rest of her life to Plan A, I have no idea what she’s talking about…” she says, John still frozen in shock. “I do.” Everyone turns to Dirk. “He never even hoped to get people off of Earth?” Davepeta asks. Dirk shakes his head. “No.” “But she’s been trying to solve that equation for years…” Jade says. Dirk sighs. “She solved the equation before I even left.” “Then why wouldn’t she use it?” Terezi asks, gritting her teeth. “It couldn’t reconcile relativity with quantum mechanics. You need more.” Dirk explains. “More?” John asks, snapping out of his stupor. “More what?” he asks again. “More data. You need to see into a black hole.” Dirk says. “The laws of nature prohibit a naked singularity.” Roxy turns to Jade. “Is that true?” she asks. Jade nods. “Say a black hole is an oyster. The singularity is the pearl inside. The gravity’s so strong that it’s always hidden in darkness. Behind the horizon.” Jade shrugs. “That’s why they call it a black hole.” she says, her voice breaking on the last words. “Okay, but if we could see beyond the horizon…” Davepeta says, but Dirk cuts them off. “We can’t. There are some things that aren’t meant to be known.”

Dirk turns to Rose and Roxy. “Calliope had to find another way to save the trolls and humans from extinction, and that’s Plan B. A colony.” Dirk says. “Why not tell people?” Jake asks. “Why keep building all those bloody stations?” “She knew how hard it would be to get people to work together to save the species instead of themselves.” Dirk says. “Or their children.” he adds. “Bullshit.” Terezi says. “Well, take Alternia.” Dirk says to her. “A civilization based on selfishness. People always looked out for themselves first. When it comes to the whole species?” Dirk shakes his head. “You never would have come unless you believed you could save them. Evolution has yet to transcend that simple barrier. We care deeply, selflessly, about those we know, but that empathy barely transcends our line of sight.” “But the lie.” Rose says, her voice rising. “That monstrous lie?” “Unforgivable. And she knew that.” Dirk says, shaking his head. “She destroyed her own ‘humanity’ to save both species. She made an incredible sacrifice.” “No.” John says in a deep, almost scary voice, catching everyone off-guard. “An incredible sacrifice is being made by the people on Earth, who are gonna die!” he half-shouts. “Because in her fucking arrogance…” he pauses to breath shakily, “He declared their case hopeless.” Dirk shakes his head somberly. “I’m sorry John, their case is hopeless.” “No.” John says weakly, his voice barely audible. “We are the future.” Dirk says.

Rose turns to John. “John, what can I do?” she says helplessly. John doesn’t hesitate to give his response. “Let me go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few references in the names of the Lazarus mission members.


End file.
